In 2002, the global area of transgenic crops continued to grow for the sixth consecutive year at a sustained growth rate of more than 10%. The estimated global area of transgenic or GM crops for 2002 is 58.7 million hectares or 145 million acres, grown by between 5.5 and 6.0 million farmers in 16 countries, up from approximately 5 million farmers and 13 countries in 2001. The increase in area between 2001 and 2002 is 12%, equivalent to 6.1 million hectares or 15 million acres. During the sevenyear period 1996 to 2002, global area of transgenic crops increased 35 fold, from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 58.7 million hectares in 2002. More than one quarter (27%) of the global transgenic crop area of 58.7 million hectares in 2002, equivalent to 16.0 million hectares, was grown in developing countries where growth continued to be strong. Whereas the absolute growth in GM crop area between 2001 and 2002 was higher in industrial countries (3.6 million hectares) compared with developing countries (2.5 million hectares), the percentage growth was more than twice as high in the developing countries of the South (19%) than in the industrial countries of the North (9%). In 2002, four principal countries grew 99% of the global transgenic crop area. The USA grew 39.0 million hectares (66% of global total), followed by Argentina with 13.5 million hectares (23%), Canada 3.5 million hectares (6%) and China 2.1 million hectares (4%). Of the four leading GM crop countries, China had the highest yearon-year growth with a 40% increase in its Bt cotton area from 1.5 million hectares in 2001 to 2.1 million hectares in 2002, equivalent to 51% of the total cotton area of 4.1 million hectares; this is the first time for the Bt cotton area in China to exceed more than half of the national cotton area. Despite the economic crisis in Argentina, its GM crop area grew at 14% from 11.8 million hectares in 2001 to 13.5 million hectares in 2002. A growth rate of 9% was achieved in both the USA (equivalent to 3.3 million hectares) and Canada (0.3 million hectares). GM crop hectarage increased in South Africa by over 20% to 0.3 million hectares. GM cotton area in Australia decreased by half because total area planted to cotton decreased by approximately half due to the very severe drought, the worst in decades. Three countries, India, Colombia and Honduras grew transgenic crops for the first time in 2002. Notably, India the largest cotton growing country in the world, with 8.7 million hectares equivalent to 25% of the world cotton hectarage, planted 45,000 hectares of commercial Bt cotton for the first time in 2002. Colombia also planted an introductory pre-commercial area of up to 2,000 hectares of Bt cotton for the first time in 2002. Honduras became the first country in Central America to grow an introductory precommercial area of approximately 350 hectares of Bt corn in 2002. Thus, the number of countries that grew GM crops increased from 13 in 2001 to 16 in 2002 – these include 9 developing countries, 5 industrial countries and 2 Eastern Europe countries. Globally, in 2002, the principal GM crops were: GM soybean occupying 36.5 million hectares (62% of global GM area), up from 33.3 million hectares in 2001; GM corn at 12.4 million hectares (21% of global GM area), up from 9.8 million hectares in 2001; transgenic cotton at the same level of 6.8 million hectares (12% of global GM area); and GM canola at 3.0 million hectares (5% of global GM area), up from 2.7 million hectares in 2001. During the seven-year period 1996 to 2002, herbicide tolerance has consistently been the dominant trait with insect resistance second. In 2002, herbicide tolerance, deployed in soybean, corn and cotton, occupied 75% or 44.2 million hectares of the global GM 58.7 million hectares, with 10.1 million hectares (17%) planted to Bt crops. Stacked genes for both herbicide tolerance and insect resistance deployed in both cotton and corn occupied 8% or 4.4 million hectares of the global transgenic area in 2002. The two dominant GM crop/trait combinations in 2002 were: herbicide tolerant soybean occupying 36.5 million hectares or 62% of the global total and grown in seven countries; and Bt maize, occupying 7.7 million hectares, equivalent to 13% of global transgenic area and also planted in seven countries - notably South Africa grew 58,000 hectares of Bt white maize for food, up ten fold from 2001; herbicide tolerant canola planted in Canada and the USA occupied 3.0 million hectares equivalent to 5% of global transgenic area; the other five GM crops, herbicide tolerant maize and cotton, Bt cotton and Bt/herbicide tolerant cotton and maize, each occupied 4% of global transgenic crop area. Another useful way to portray the adoption of GM crops is to express the global adoption rates for the four principal GM crops in 2001, soybean, cotton, canola and corn. The data indicate that for the first time the GM soybean area exceeded 50% of the global hectarage of soybean. In 2002, 51% of the 72 million hectares of soybean planted globally were transgenic - up from 46 % in 2001. Twenty percent of the 34 million hectares of cotton were GM, the same as last year; decreases in total plantings of cotton in the US (down approximately 10%) and Australia (down approximately 50% due to a severe drought) were offset by a significant increase in GM cotton in China and the first planting of Bt cotton in India. The areas planted to transgenic canola and maize, both increased in 2002. Of the global 25 million hectares of canola, the percentage GM increased from 11% in 2001 to 12% in 2002. Similarly, of the 140 million hectares of maize globally, 9% were GM in 2002 - up significantly from 7% in 2001. If the global areas (conventional and transgenic) of these four principal GM crops are aggregated, the total area is 271 million hectares of which 21%, up from 19% in 2001, is transgenic in 2002. The biggest increase in 2002 is a 3.2 million hectares increase in GM soybean equivalent to a 10% year-on-year increase, followed by a 2.6 million hectares increase in GM maize equivalent to a significant 27% yearon-year growth. The most compelling case for biotechnology, and more specifically GM crops, are their capability to contribute to: increasing crop productivity and thus contribute to global food, feed and fiber security; conserving biodiversity, as a land saving technology capable of higher productivity; more efficient use of external inputs and thus a more sustainable agriculture and environment; increasing stability of production to lessen suffering during famines due to abiotic and biotic stresses; to the improvement of economic and social benefits and the alleviation of abject poverty in developing countries. The experience of the first seven years, 1996 to 2002, during which a cumulative total of over 235 million hectares (over 580 million acres) of GM crops were planted globally in 19 countries, has met the expectations of millions of large and small farmers in both industrial and developing countries. In 2002, coincidental with evidential confirmation that GM crops continue to deliver significant economic, environmental, and social benefits to both small and large farmers in developing and industrial countries, the global area of transgenic crops continued to grow at an annual sustained rate of more than 10%. The number of farmers that benefited from GM crops continued to grow and reached between 5.5 million and 6 million in 2002. More than three quarters of the farmers that benefited from GM crops in 2002 were resource-poor farmers planting Bt cotton, mainly in nine provinces in China and also in the Makhathini Flats in KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa. In 2002 the global market value of GM crops is estimated to be approximately $4.25 billion having increased from $3.8 billion in 2001 when it represented over 12% of the $31 billion global crop protection market and 13% of the $30 billion global commercial seed market. The market value of the global transgenic crop market is based on the sale price of transgenic seed plus any technology fees that apply. The global value of the GM crop market is projected at approximately $5 billion for 2005. There is cause for cautious optimism that the global area and the number of farmers planting GM crops will continue to grow in 2003, particularly in the six principal countries that grow GM crops - USA, Argentina, Canada, China, South Africa and Australia. Amongst the other ten countries growing transgenic crops in 2002, India is expected to increase its Bt cotton significantly and one or more new countries will also grow GM crops for the first time in 2003; Philippines approved Bt corn as its first commercial GM crop in early December 2002 with the expected first plantings in early 2003. Taking all factors into account, the outlook for the near term points to continued growth in the global hectarage of GM crops and the number of farmers. The global proportion of small farmers from developing countries growing GM crops is expected to increase as countries like India increase their GM hectarage of Bt cotton and approve other advanced products like GM mustard that are already under consideration. New input trait products from industry include the dual Bt gene Bollgard® II, in cotton, approved in Australia in 2002, and expected to be available in the US in 2003, with another dual Bt gene cotton becoming available in 2004 as well as an insect resistant cotton with a novel Bt gene. A new trait in corn for the North American market for corn root worm control will probably also be available in the US in 2003. The global GM corn area with insect resistance and herbicide tolerance traits, as well as the stacked traits, is likely to increase significantly in the near term. Bt cotton is also likely to increase as established markets continue to grow modestly and new GM countries like India grow faster. Despite the fact that GM soybean now occupies 75% or more of the US soybean area and 99% of the soybean area in Argentina, GM soybean area is likely to grow mainly because of increased plantings of soybean. Should Brazil approve RR soybean then this would result in a significant one-step growth in the most important new and potentially large market for GM soybean globally. With India growing a GM crop for the first time in 2002 the three most populous countries in Asia – China, India, and Indonesia, with 2.5 billion total people, are all now commercializing GM crops. Two of the three major economies of Latin America – Argentina and Mexico are officially growing GM crops, plus South Africa on the African continent. In 2002, GM crops were grown in 16 countries with a combined population of 3.2 billion, living on six continents in the North and the South: Asia, Africa and Latin America and North America, Europe and Oceania. Thus, despite the continuing controversy about GM crops, the hectarage and number of farmers growing GM crops have continued to grow every year since their introduction in 1996, and for the first time in 2002, just over half the world’s population live in countries where GM crops have been officially approved and grown.

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