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The Use of GM Crops in Developing Countries

Appendix 3: Examples of GM crops with relevance to developing countries (continue 5)

CropCountryImproved traitCommentsStage
Rice Philippines (34)Micronutrient enrichment– Increased iron and zinc content – Research undertaken by the Institute of Human Nutrition, at the University of the Philippines, in cooperation with IRRI – Trials involving humans are about to commence to establish whether the micronutrients are bioavailableF
US and Philippines (35)Bacterial resistance– Resistance to bacterial leaf blight – Gene patented by the University of California, Davis. The technology has been made available to developing countries free of charge. – Field trials conducted in the Philippines by IRRIF
Soybean (36)Argentina Uruguay South Africa Mexico Romania Herbicide tolerance – The majority of herbicide tolerant soybeans grown worldwide are Monsanto varietiesC
Squash (37)EgyptViral Viral resistance – Egyptian cultivar transformed using a construct with the zucchini yellow mosaic virus coat protein gene – Collaboration between AGERI, Cornell University and Michigan State University – Preliminary field trials in 1999 and 2000F

34 Future Harvest (1999) New rices may improve human health: iron and zinc enriched rice undergoing trial in convent;
Vitamin A-Enhanced and iron-enriched rice varieties to be tested. Available:
http://www.futureharvest.org/news/rice.bckgrnd.shtml. Accessed on: 17 Jan 2003.

35 GRAIN (2000) BB rice: IRRI’s first transgenic field test. Available: http://www.grain.org/publications/bbrice-en.cfm. Accessed on: 9 May 2003.

36 James C (2002) Preview, Global Status of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2002 ISAAA Brief No. 27 (Ithaca, NY: ISAAA).

37 Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project (2002) Biotechnology Research and Policy Activities of ABSP in Egypt: 1991- 2002. Available: http://www.iia.msu.edu/absp/egypt-absp.pdf. Accessed on: 29 May 2003.

CropCountryImproved traitCommentsStage
Sweet potatoeVietnam (38)Pest resistance (Bt)– Resistance to the sweet potato weevil – Research undertaken by the Institute of Biotechnology in Hanoi, Vietnam – Bt strains were donated free of charge by the company NovartisL
KenyaViral resistance– Resistance to Sweet Potato feathery mottle virus – Research undertaken by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), ISAAA and Monsanto – See case study 5F
Wheat (40)EgyptAbiotic stresses– Development of varieties with tolerance to salt and drought – Collaborative research undertaken by AGERI and Ohio State UniversityL

38 Syngenta (2000) Novartis Agribusiness: New agricultural technologies for developing countries. Available:
http://www.syngenta.com/en/media/article.asp?article_id=63. Accessed on: 15 Jan 2003.

39 Monsanto (2001) Monsanto Welcomes U.N. Report on Biotech’s Benefits for Developing World. Available:
http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto/layout/media/01/07-09-01.asp. Accessed on: 16 Jan 2003.

40 Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project (2002) Biotechnology Research and Policy Activities of ABSP in Egypt: 1991-
2002. Available: http://www.iia.msu.edu/absp/egypt-absp.pdf. Accessed on: 29 May 2003.

© NCOB 2004

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