Current Status and Long-Term Investments in Agricultural Biotechnology for Sustainable Development in Asia-Pacific by Rhodora Aldemita, ISAAA, Philippines

1. Current Status and Long-Term Investments
in Agricultural Biotechnology for
Sustainable Developments in Asia-Pacific
Rhodora R. Aldemita, PhD
Director
ISAAA-Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology
International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA)
http://www.isaaa.org
APAARI Consultation on Agri-biotechnology, May 29-31, 2018, Bangkok, Thailand

2. 1804 20501990 2017
Source:Source: UN Population Council, 2017UN Population Council, 2017
Global Population Increase

3. Top 20 Countries by Population in 2017, (Million)
Country Population Country Population
1. China* 1,387 11. Japan* 126
2. India* 1,339 12. Ethiopia 104
3. USA 326 13. Philippines* 103
4. Indonesia* 263 14. Vietnam* 95
5. Brazil 211 15. Egypt 95
6. Pakistan* 196 16. D.R. Congo 82
7. Nigeria 191 17. Iran 81
8. Bangladesh* 164 18.Germany 81
9. Russia 143 19. Turkey 81
10. Mexico 130 20. Thailand* 68
*9 countries out of the top 20 are from Asia
Source: http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

4. Global Challenge
• Grow additional food without
using up much more land,
water, labor, nutrients and
energy
• World already at near 15% of
Earth’s surface that can be
sustainably farmed
• New challenges of climate
change
• Water shortage and salinity
china.org.cn

5. Global Area of Biotech Crops, 2016: By Country
(Million Hectares)
• Top five countries: 3 Dev countries (Brazil, Argentina, and India)
and 2 Industrial countries (USA and Canada) grew 91% of biotech crops
88%
10%
2%

6. ISAAA, 2016
Global Area of Biotech Crops, 1996 to 2016: Industrial
and Developing Countries (Million Hectares, Million Acres)
• Resumes high adoption at 185.1 million hectares
• ~110-fold increase from 1996
• 2.1 billion accumulated hectarage

7. Global Adoption Rates (%) for Principal Biotech Crops
(Million Hectares, Million Acres), 2016
ISAAA, 2016

8. ISAAA, 2016
Global Area of Biotech Crops, 1996 to 2016: By Trait
(Million Hectares, Million Acres)
• Herbicide tolerance at 47% and
• Stacked traits occupied 41% of the global hectarage

9. • 72% productivity gain from soybean, maize, cotton and
canola to attain 574 MT:
• 28% reduced cost of production
• US$167.8 B Economic benefits
• 174 Mha required with conventional crops
• 619 M kg pesticide reduction, 8.1% savings, 19% reduction
in EIQ
• 26.7 B kg CO2 in 2016 savings removing 12 M cars off the
road
• Contribution to poverty alleviation of 18 M farmers
Source: Brookes and Barfoot, 2018
20 Years Benefits to Global Food Security and Sustainability,
Environment Conservation and Reduced Pesticide Use

10. CHINA
PHILIPPINES
AUSTRALIA
MYANMAR
INDIA
PAKISTAN
BANGLADESH
VIETNAM
Country Crops Hectares 2015
Benefits
(Million US$)
India Cotton 10.8 M 1,330
Pakistan Cotton 2.9 M 483
China Cotton,
Papaya,
2.8 M 1,005
Australia Cotton,
canola
852,000 133
Philippines Maize 812,000 82
Myanmar Cotton 325,000 50
Vietnam Maize 35,000
Bangladesh Eggplant 700
16 Biotech Crop Adopting Countries in Asia Pacific, 2016
8 Importing Countries: Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, New
Zealand Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand

11. • 15 years of biotech cotton commercialization
• 96% Bt cotton adoption rate produced 39 million
bales of cotton and 1.5 million tons cotton seed oil
• Biotech crops in the pipeline:
- High yielding DMH-11 hybrid mustard
- desi IR cotton varieties of G. arboreum and G.
herbaceum
- maize, pigeon pea, chickpea, rice, sugar cane
(IR, HT, and drought and salinity tolerance)
• Biosafety regulations for GM crops streamlined to
expedite science-based approvals
India - #1 cotton producer

12. Pakistan – approved stacked maize
events for cultivation
• Planted Bt cotton for the 7th
year on 2.9 M ha at
97% adoption by 725,000 farmers
• 34 Bt cotton varieties and four IR/HT maize events
approved for cultivation by the Biosafety Committee
• On-going development of biotech cotton, wheat,
rice, maize, sugarcane, tobacco, potato with various
biotech and abiotic resistance traits
• Potential of 1.1 million hectares biotech maize

13. China – government commits to a strong
biotech country
• 19 years of biotech cotton commercialization
• Planted Bt cotton (2.8 M ha, 95% adoption by
>5 M farmers), PRSV-R papaya (8,550 ha), and
Bt poplar (543 ha)
• Strong political support for R&D and
commercialization of biotech crops
• R&D on DT wheat, maize, DR rice, and
healthier oils in peanuts and soybeans
• Large potential for biotech potato adoption,
considered 4th
staple crop

14. Australia – 29% increase in biotech
crop area
• One of the six pioneer biotech crop countries
• Planted 852,000 hectares of biotech crops: 405,000 ha
cotton at 100% adoption rate and 447,000 ha canola
• Commendable and transparent regulatory oversight for
biotech crop development and commercialization
• Biotech crops in the pipeline: DT wheat, multi-trait
sugarcane, and disease-R banana and various crops
and traits in R&D
• Western Australian parliament repealed the GMO Crops-
Free Areas Act 2003, more farmers shifted to biotech
canola

15. Philippines – 16% increase in
biotech maize area
• Planted biotech maize for 14 years by more
than 406,000 farmers at 65% adoption rate
• 812,000 hectares planted to biotech maize an
increase of 16% from 2015 (702,000 hectares)
• Biotech crops in the pipeline: Golden Rice, Bt
cotton, PRSV-R papaya, and Bt eggplant
• Bt eggplant case was ruled moot and academic
– much clearer commercialization opportunity
• New country regulation being developed and
harmonized for more expeditious approval

16. Myanmar – continued planting of
home-grown Bt cotton varieties
• Planted Bt cotton for 10 years
• Home-grown Bt cotton varieties Ngwe chi 6 and 9
planted on 350,000 hectares (93%) adoption by
460,000 small holder farmers
• Strong Public-Private sector partnership in R&D for
varietal and hybrid seed development of rice, maize,
cotton and vegetable crops
• Government recognized need for Biosafety Law to
facilitate entry of biotech products.

17. Vietnam – 10-fold increase in biotech
maize planting
• Planted 35,000 ha of stacked IR/HT maize;10-fold
increase from 3,500 ha in 2015 (first year of
commercialization)
• Various field trials of biotech maize events being
conducted
• Approved 22 events for food and feed; including 4 for
commercialization
• Potential to increase biotech maize adoption with
demands for pork and poultry feeds
• High biotech soybean and cotton imports could drive
cultivation in the country

18. Bangladesh – only country in Asia
planting biotech food crop
• 3rd
year of cultivating Bt brinjal at 700 hectares by 2,500
farmers
• An exemplary model of continuing political support from the
Minister of Agriculture Hon. Matia Chowdhury
• Seventh Five Year Plan (2016-2020) placed emphasis on
crop improvement through various means including
biotechnology
• Biotech crops in the pipeline in various stages of approval
- 3 Bt brinjal varieties for commercialization, and two
varieties for field trials;
- late blight resistant potato, Bt cotton, Golden Rice
• Target crops include biotech potato, cotton, rice and tomato

19. Biotech crops provide more diverse
offerings to consumers in 2016

20. New biotech crops and traits in the pipeline

21. • Technology in conjunction with conducive policies can
double food production
• Regulation should be science/evidence based, fit for
purpose, and harmonized globally
Investments in National Biosafety Regulations
Countries that have enforced National Biosafety Regulations
Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan,
Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan. Philippines, Republic of
Korea, Thailand and Vietnam
Countries that have Biosafety Regulations at various stages of
development
Bhutan, Cambodia, DPR Colombia, Laos Republic and Nepal

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