Ithaca, New York
January 10, 2002

The Annual Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic (GM) Crops, conducted by Dr. Clive James, Chairman of the ISAAA Board of Directors, features comprehensive information on transgenic crops grown globally in 2001. The following are highlights:

• The estimated global area of transgenic or GM crops for 2001 is 52.6 million hectares or 130.0 million acres, grown by 5.5 million farmers in 13 countries. 2001 is the first year when the global area of GM crops has exceeded the historical milestone of 50 million hectares.
• The increase in area between 2000 and 2001 is 19 percent, equivalent to 8.4 million hectares or 20.8 million acres. This increase is almost twice the corresponding increase of 4.3 million hectares between 1999 and 2000, which was equivalent to 11 percent growth.
• During the six-year period of 1996 to 2001, global area of transgenic crops increased more than 30-fold, from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 52.6 million hectares in 2001.
• More than one-quarter of the global transgenic crop area of 52.6 million hectares in 2001, equivalent to 13.5 million hectares, was grown in six developing countries. Indonesia commercialized Bt cotton for the first time in 2001.
• In 2001, four principal countries grew 99 percent of the global transgenic crop area. The USA grew 35.7 million hectares (68 percent of the global total), followed by Argentina with 11.8 million hectares (22 percent), Canada with 3.2 million hectares (6 percent), and China with 1.5 million hectares (3 percent). China had the highest year-on- year percentage growth, with a tripling of its Bt cotton area from 0.5 million hectares in 2000 to 1.5 million hectares in 2001.
• Globally, the principal GM crops were GM soybean occupying 33.3 million hectares in 2001 (63 percent of global area), followed by GM corn at 9.8 million hectares (19 percent), GM cotton at 6.8 million hectares (13 percent), and GM canola at 2.7 million hectares (5 percent).
• During the six-year period from 1996 to 2001, herbicide tolerance has consistently been the dominant trait, with insect resistance second.
• In 2001, herbicide tolerance, deployed in soybean, corn, and cotton, occupied 77 percent or 40.6 million hectares of the global GM 52.6 million hectares, with 7.8 million hectares (15 percent) planted to Bt crops. Stacked genes for herbicide tolerance and insect resistance, deployed in both cotton and corn, occupied 8 percent or 4.2 million hectares of the global transgenic area in 2001.
• The two dominant GM crop/trait combinations in 2001 were: herbicide-tolerant soybean, occupying 33.3 million hectares, or 63 percent of the global total, and grown in seven countries; and Bt maize, occupying 5.9 million hectares, equivalent to 11 percent of global transgenic
  area, and planted in six countries. The other 6 GM crops occupied 5 percent or less of global transgenic crop area.
• On a global basis, 46 percent of the 72 million hectares of soybeans grown worldwide were GM in 2001 -- up from 36 percent in 2000; 20 percent of the global 34 million hectares of cotton were GM -- up from 16 percent in 2000; and global areas planted to GM canola and maize were unchanged from 2000 at 11 percent of the 25 million hectares of canola and 7 percent of the 140 million hectares of maize. If the global areas (conventional and transgenic) of these four principal GM crops are aggregated, the total area is 271 million hectares, of which 19 percent is GM -- up from 16 percent in 2000.
• In the first six years from 1996 to 2001, a cumulative total of over 175 million hectares (almost 440 million acres) of GM crops were planted globally and met the expectations of millions of large and small farmers.
• The number of farmers benefiting from GM crops increased from 3.5 million farmers in 2000 to 5.5 million in 2001. More than three- quarters of the farmers who benefited from GM crops in 2001 were resource-poor farmers planting Bt cotton, mainly in China and also in South Africa.
• There is cautious optimism that global area and the number of farmers planting GM crops will continue to increase in 2002

The above are excerpts from "Global Status of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2001," by Clive James, ISAAA Briefs No. 24: The publication and further information can be obtained from ISAAA's SoutheastAsia Center by sending an e-mail to publications@isaaa.org.
Cost of the publication, ISAAA Briefs No. 24, is $US 25.00, including postage. The publication is available free of charge to nationals of developing countries.

World agriculture's ability to meet critical food, feed, and fiber needs improved in 2001 due to GM crops, according to a preliminary report released today by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).

The global area of transgenic crops increased 19 percent in 2001, nearly double the 11 percent increase in 2000 (ISAAA's final 2000 report was released in December 2001). Dr. Clive James, chairman of the ISAAA Board of Directors, attributes the unprecedented adoption rates and growing global support for biotech crops largely to substantial economic, environmental, and health benefits of crops, such as herbicide-tolerant soybeans and canola and insect-resistant Bt cotton and corn.

Global highlights from the 2001 preview report released today:

• The estimated global area of transgenic or GM crops for 2001 is 52.6 million hectares or 130.0 million acres; 2001 is the first year when the global area of GM crops has exceeded the historical milestone of 50 million hectares. During the six-year period of 1996 to 2001, global area of transgenic crops increased more than 30-fold, from 1.7 million hectares in 1996.
• The number of farmers benefiting from GM crops increased from 3.5 million farmers in 2000 to 5.5 million in 2001. More than three-quarters of the farmers who benefited from GM crops in 2001 were resource-poor farmers planting Bt cotton, mainly in China and also in South Africa.
• The increase in area between 2000 and 2001 is 19 percent, equivalent to 8.4 million hectares or 20.8 million acres. This increase is almost twice the corresponding increase of 4.3 million hectares between 1999 and 2000, which was equivalent to 11 percent growth.
• More than one-quarter of the global transgenic crop area of 52.6 million hectares in 2001, equivalent to 13.5 million hectares, was grown in six developing countries.

James says the benefits of transgenic crops enjoyed for several years by U.S. growers are now becoming especially evident for growers and consumers in developing countries.

"As growers in developing nations gain access to these crops and see the benefits demonstrated on their farms through higher yields, lower input costs, and less dependency on conventional pesticides -- leading to a more sustainable agriculture -- support for GM crops will continue to increase," he says. "The transfer of this important technology to those who need it most is beginning to happen." In 2001,
transgenic crop acreage in developing countries represented more than one-quarter of total global transgenic crop acreage.

Dr. James and ISAAA Global Coordinator Dr. Randy Hautea say several developing countries experienced growth in transgenic crop acreage from 2000 to 2001, and Indonesia commercialized Bt cotton for the first time in 2001.

"Our report reflects the fact that transgenic crops provide tangible benefits, otherwise we would not see such widespread increases year after year," says Hautea. "And these benefits are not just for growers, but for consumers as well. For example, in Indonesia, the higher yields possible through Bt cotton commercialization are particularly important because the country currently produces less than one
percent of its total domestic requirements, relying on one-half million tons of cotton imports every year."

Based on the successful introduction of transgenic crops thus far, and increasing political support in nations in which the crops' benefits are badly needed, ISAAA predicts continued modest growth in transgenic crop acreage in 2002.

ISAAA publishes several reports on various aspects of crop biotechnology every year, including an annual Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic Crops. The final Global Review for 2000 (ISAAA Brief 23) was published in December 2001. The report published today is a preview of 2001 global GM crops areas and will be supplemented by the customary comprehensive final report for 2001 toward the end of 2002.

Statistics published in ISAAA reports are based on a consolidated data base from a broad range of sources, including government agencies and other organizations in the public and private sector. The figures published cover only plantings of GM crops in countries where the products have been officially approved.

"PREVIEW Global Status of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2001," by Clive James, ISAAA Briefs No. 24. can be obtained from ISAAA's SoutheastAsia Center by sending an e-mail to publications@isaaa.org.
Cost of the publication, ISAAA Briefs No. 24, is $US 25.00, including postage. The publication is available free of charge to nationals of developing countries.