Benefits of biotech crops have fueled rapid growth in Canada

March 28, 2003

An article from the Council for Biotechnology Information

Farmers have embraced biotechnology because it allows them to preserve soil moisture and reduce erosion.

Ravaged by drought in the summer of 2002, many western Canadian growers struggled to maintain their crops in soil with little moisture.  However, growers who chose to plant biotech crops, particularly herbicide tolerant (HT) varieties of canola, had a saving grace amongst harsh conditions.

Herbicide tolerance allows growers to reduce herbicide applications, but also to utilize no-till planting techniques - a practice that preserves the topsoil and soil nutrients1. Moisture loss and erosion are thus prevented, holding the soil in place unlike the drought conditions of the dirty '30s.

"Herbicide tolerant crops played a role in preventing yield losses last summer," says Peter Gamache, professional agrologist and team leader for the Alberta Reduced Tillage Linkages program.  "They added great value, enabling growers to take tillage passes out of the system, saving moisture."

It's benefits such as these that have accelerated adoption of biotech crops among growers across Canada.  Since their commercial introduction in 1996, Canadian growers have been embracing biotech canola, corn and soybeans at a near double-digit pace annually2.

According to a January 2003 report from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), national acreage of biotech crops has risen from a few trial plot hectares in 1995 to 3.5 million commercial hectares in 2002.   Since 1999 alone, plantings of biotech varieties of canola have increased by nearly 30 percent, and biotech corn and soybean plantings have increased by five and 15 percent, respectively3.

"The increase in the number of growers using biotech seed is a direct reflection on the benefits associated with growing them," says Brenda Cassidy, director of communications for the Ontario Corn Growers Association. "Growers are obviously seeing direct advantages."

Besides reduced use of herbicides and tillage, HT crops also offer more effective weed control and a greater economic return. Rather than using a combination of herbicides to control a broad spectrum of weeds, growers with HT crops only require one herbicide — saving time, money, and preventing the development of herbicide resistance, says Dave Wilkins, communications director for the Canola Council of Canada.  With reduced tillage less fuel is required, benefiting both growers' pocketbooks and the environment, he says.4,5

Canola and soybeans comprise the largest portion of HT varieties grown in Canada, accounting for 65 and 40 percent of total acreage in 2002, respectively.  This is an increase of about 5 percent for each from the previous year.  Biotech corn remained at 40 percent of national acreage in both 2001 and 2002.

The slower increase in adopting biotech corn is related to its purpose in the field, explains Cassidy. Although herbicide-tolerant corn varieties exist, the greatest benefit is with pest-resistant varieties containing Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally occurring soil bacterium that wards off the European corn borer. 

Bt corn, as it's commonly known, saves growers from losing part of their crop to the stalk-ravaging pest, increasing yields and reducing the need for pesticides. However, plantings of Bt corn vary from year to year, depending on the estimated threat of corn borer infestation, says Cassidy. 

As of 2002, Canada ranks third among the top four leading countries growing biotech crops, contributing 3.5 million hectares of the global production total of 58.7 million hectares. Canada shares global production with the United States (39 million hectares), Argentina (13.5 million hectares) and China (2.1 million hectares)6.

Other nations, particularly developing ones, are starting to reap the benefits of biotech crops.  According to an ISAAA report, 2002 marked the first plantings of crops enhanced through biotechnology for India, Colombia (Bt cotton) and Honduras (Bt corn).  The Philippines became the first Asian country to approve a biotech feed crop, allowing the planting of a variety of Bt corn.

"Biotechnology continues to be the most rapidly adopted technology in agricultural history due to the social and economic benefits the crops offer farmers and society, particularly the 5 million resource-poor farmers in developing countries," says Clive James, chairman and founder of ISAAA. "Biotech crops can significantly alter the lives of these farmers, limiting the time they must spend in the field and helping alleviate poverty."

The ISAAA report projects continued near-term growth in global acreage of biotech crops and in the number of farmers who will use the technology. New biotech cotton and corn products are expected to be commercialized within the next few years as well, further increasing biotechnology's presence around the world. By 2005, the report predicts the global market value of biotech crops will reach $5 billion, up from approximately $4.25 billion in 2002 and $3.8 billion just a year before.

1 "Economics of Herbicide Use the Driving Force for Planting Biotech Canola," Council for Biotechnology Information, 

2 "Biotechnology Facts: Benefits to Farmers," CropLife Canada, <www.croplife.ca>.

3 "Biotech Crops Continue Rapid Global Growth," International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications news release, January 15, 2003, <www.isaaa.org>.

4 An Agronomic and Economic Assessment of GMO Canola, Canola Council of Canada.

5 Brethur, C., Mussell, A., Mayer, H. and Martin, L. 2002. "Agronomic, Economic and Environmental Impacts of the Commercial Cultivation of Glyphosate Tolerant Soybeans in Ontario,"  George Morris Centre, Guelph, ON,  <www.georgemorris.org/CBIFINALReport0702CCB.pdf>.

6 James, Clive. 2002.  "Preview: Global Status of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2002,"  ISAAA Briefs No. 27.  ISAAA: Ithaca, NY, <www.isaaa.org>.

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