Genetically Modified crops
How far have GM crops entered agriculture?
2.44 The total area planted with GM crops in 1998 is shown in Table 2.2. In 1998 approximately 28 million hectares were planted with transgenic crops, mostly in the US, where 20.5 million hectares were sown, representing 74% of the global total of transgenic crop plantings. This figure was up from 11 million hectares in 1997 and 1.7 million hectares in 1996. These are extremely high adoption rates for a new technology by agricultural standards. Argentina grew 4.3 million hectares of GM crops in 1998, a three-fold increase from 1997.
Table 2.2 Global area of transgenic crops in 1998: by crop (millions of hectares)
| Crop | 1998 | % |
| Soybean | 14.5 | 52 |
| Corn/Maize | 8.3 | 30 |
| Cotton | 2.5 | 9 |
| Canola (oilseed rape) | 14.5 | 9 |
| Potato | <0.1 | <1 |
| Total | 27.8 | 100 |
Source: James C. (1998) Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 1998. ISAAA Briefs No.8, ISAAA, Ithaca.
2.45 The principal reported agricultural benefits of these GM crops include more flexibility in crop management, decreased dependency on conventional insecticides and herbicides, and higher yields and cleaner and higher grade of harvested product. In 1997, the economic benefit to US farmers was estimated at US$133 million for Bt cotton, US$119 million for Bt corn and US$109 million for herbicide-tolerant soybean, with an overall total of US$360 million, up from US$159 million in 1996.
2.46 Why is the cultivation of GM crops growing so quickly? US farmers consider that herbicide-tolerant soya offers them real advantages. In the US, where springtime sowing is normal, the use of a post-emergent herbicide has meant some changes in agronomic practice, leading to retention of more soil moisture. This, together with the slightly longer growing season and the effectiveness of the herbicide, has resulted in significantly higher yields. Consequently, farmers in the US will soon be growing GM crops on a wider scale. These new crops will bring a much closer relationship between the farmer and the agrochemical company, which will sell both seed and herbicides, and also a similar closer relationship between the farmer and the retailer, as complete traceability will be essential. There may also be a need for a licensing system to monitor and, if necessary, deal with environmental issues.
2.47 The situation is very different in Europe where there have been almost no commercial plantings. The EU's approval process for novel crops is slow, causing tensions with the US over the delay in permitting imports of GM food supplies. (24) There have also been difficulties in defining which products have to be labelled and how. These problems are discussed further in Chapter 7.
Footnotes24 House of Lord's Select Committee on the European Communities (1999) EC Regulation of Genetic Modification in Agriculture (Session 1998-99 2nd Report), p 46. The Stationery Office, London.