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Science Forum Index » Agriculture Forum » Biotech corn could boost global yield
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| David Kendra |
 Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 8:56 pm |
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Biotech corn could boost global yield
November 6, 2003
ISAAA
http://www.isaaa.org/
Wider global adoption of the first generation of biotech corn or maize could
produce an additional 35 million metric tons of corn - more than a 5 percent
increase globally. That increase could give developing countries a
significant boost in meeting rising demand for corn which, by 2020, will
surpass wheat and rice as the world's No. 1 crop, according to a report from
a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help alleviate hunger and
poverty by sharing crop biotechnology applications.
The report, from the International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), said rising incomes in the developing
regions of Asia and Latin America are triggering a shift to more meat
consumption, which will cause a dramatic increase in demand for corn-based
animal feeds.
Bt corn - enhanced with a naturally occurring soil protein (Bacillus
thuringiensis) that protects plants from insect pests such as corn borers -
can cut in half the estimated 9 percent loss of the global corn harvest to
insect pests. The pest-resistant corn also can make food and feed safer by
minimizing insect damage that causes the incidence of harmful mycotoxins,
according to the report. In addition, the wider adoption of Bt corn could
cut pesticide spraying by up to half, or 5,000 metric tons, it said.
" Bt corn offers a unique opportunity to provide developing countries with
safer and more affordable food and feed, which can make a major contribution
in alleviating the hunger and malnutrition that claim 24,000 lives a day in
Asia, Africa and Latin America," said Clive James, chair of ISAAA and author
of the report, "Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2002
Feature: Bt Maize."
The report said average yield gains for Bt corn over traditional varieties
were an average of 5 percent higher in the United States, 6 percent higher
in Spain, and about 10 percent higher in Argentina and South Africa. In
Spain, the only country in the European Union to grow a significant area of
the biotech crop, growers realized gains of 170 euros per hectare* due to
increased productivity and insecticide savings.
In field trials, Bt corn yields were 24 percent higher in Brazil, up to 41
percent higher in the Philippines, and between 9 and 23 percent higher in
China. Second-generation biotech corn - such as the newly approved variety
in Canada and the United States that wards off rootworm - will produce even
more gains with $1 billion in annual benefits to the United States alone.
The report also noted that developing countries will consume 80 percent of
the additional corn needed by 2020, with the lion's share of this increased
production being grown by developing world farmers, who make up 98 percent
of the world's 200 million corn farmers.
"This is a daunting challenge for developing world farmers, many of them
small and resource poor," said James. "The fact that biotechnology
incorporates beneficial traits into the seed makes these crops a very
appropriate tool for small farmers, as witnessed by the 5 million small
farmers in Asia, Latin America and Africa who have already adopted Bt
cotton."
The first year of experience for farmers in the Philippines, the first
country in Asia to approve a biotech food crop for commercial planting,
illustrates why.
"My previous harvest of traditional corn was 80 sacks of corn kernels per
hectare," said Rafael Sarmiento, who farms 1.3 hectares near General Santos
City in the Philippines. "With Bt corn, I now harvest close to 132 sacks of
corn kernels per hectare." In fact, the report said increased yields from Bt
corn production were able to meet the subsistence requirements of a family
of five in the Philippines, while conventional corn could not.
Carlos Andico, who farms 2 hectares nearby, added, "I earn big with Bt corn
because I only spend for fertilizers and do not need to spray. I could have
lived comfortably much earlier if Bt corn was introduced years ago."
In addition to the yield gains, increased farmer incomes and reduced
pesticide spraying, the report said, "There is now clear evidence that food
and feed products from Bt corn are often safer than the corresponding
products from conventional corn because of lower levels of the mycotoxin
fumonisin."
Fumonisin is produced when insects burrow into the corn stalks and kernels,
allowing fungi to enter and produce harmful mold. While mycotoxin levels are
closely monitored in the industrial world, they are not monitored in many
developing countries in the tropics where the threat from fungal infection
is greatest.
"Minimizing insect damage through Bt corn has significantly reduced
concentrations of fumonisin in food and feed," James said. "This is a major
benefit in developing countries where levels of the harmful mold are higher
in food and feed and where corn is directly used as food by a significant
portion of the population."
In 2002, Bt corn accounted for approximately 7 percent of the global corn
area - about 10 million hectares. The study projects adoption of Bt corn
could be extended to between 28 and 32 percent of the global corn area - 40
to 45 million hectares. Wider adoption and benefits could be made available
from five second-generation Bt corn varieties expected to be commercialized
in the next three years, ISAAA said. |
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