Files
Details
Title
Global Status of Genetically Modified Crops: Current Trends and Prospects
Author(s)
Issue Date
Aug 08 2002
Publication Type
Conference Paper/ Presentation
DOI and Other Identifiers
Record Identifier
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/123928
PURL Identifier
http://purl.umn.edu/123928
Language
English
Total Pages
9
Note
Modern biotechnology-facilitated crop improvement is undoubtedly one of the most significant
technological developments in agriculture. The first wave of genetically-modified (GM) or
transgenic crops include cultivars with important input traits such as herbicide tolerance and insect
resistance. Future products are expected to provide benefits that could include tolerance to
environmental stresses and enhanced nutritional content, which can be particularly valuable in
crops that are important to many developing countries, where the challenges of sustainable food
production are more critical. Rates of adoption of GM crops are unprecedented and are among the
highest for any new technologies by agricultural industry standards. The global area of GM crops
expanded by around thirty-fold from 1996 to 2001 and the number of countries growing these
crops has more than doubled. The unprecedented growth in adoption of GM crops worldwide
speaks well of the multiple benefits that they provide to growers, and the growing confidence and
acceptance of the technology by large and small farmers in both industrial and developing
countries. Equitable access to the technology, and an open and broader exchange of information,
knowledge and experience on biotechnology will help provide the opportunity to link the needs of
societies, particularly in developing countries, with an increasing array of crop biotechnology
applications and related innovations that could help achieve food security.