On August 26, the International Agricultural Biotechnology Application Services Organization (ISAAA) released the global commercialization status of genetically modified /genetically modified crops in Beijing in 2018. It is reported that in 2018, 70 countries planted or imported genetically modified crops, and 26 countries (21 developing countries and 5 developed countries) planted a total of 191.7 million hectares of genetically modified crops, an increase of 1.9 million hectares from the planting area in 2017.
ISAAA Board Chairman Paul S. Teng said: "Although agricultural biotechnology is not the only key technology to improve global food security, it is an important scientific tool in multidisciplinary programs."
Data shows that since 1996, the area of genetically modified crops has increased by about 113 times, with a cumulative area of 2.5 billion hectares. In countries with high annual application rates of genetically modified crops such as the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and India, the application rate of major crops has reached nearly 100%.
In 2018, the market met the greater needs of farmers and consumers, and provided diversified genetically modified crops with a variety of traits. These genetically modified crops include anti-blocking, anti- browning, low acrylamide and late blight potato , insect-resistant sugarcane, anti-browning apples, as well as high oleic rape and safflower seeds .
The ISAAA report also pointed out that in 2018, the top five countries with the largest area of genetically modified crops (USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and India) accounted for 91% of the global genetically modified crop planting area. GMO soybeans have the highest application rate in the world, with their planting area accounting for 50% of the global GMO crop area, while the planting area of genetically modified crops with multiple traits continues to increase, accounting for 42% of the global planting area of genetically modified crops.
In addition, each continent also showed different characteristics: farmers in 10 Latin American countries planted a total of 79.4 million hectares of genetically modified crops; 9 countries in Asia and the Pacific region planted 19.13 million hectares of genetically modified crops; the Kingdom of Swatini (formerly Swaziland ) planted genetically modified crops in Africa together with South Africa and Sudan and introduced insect-resistant cotton; in Europe, Spain and Portugal continued to plant genetically modified corn to control European corn borers.
ISAAA is a non-profit organization. The organization shares the benefits of crop biotechnology with various stakeholders through knowledge sharing programs and providing specialized biotechnology applications, especially farmers in developing countries with low resources. (Li Chen)
