From: Subject: Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 13:37:35 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C3DE91.65AF3030"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C3DE91.65AF3030 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.biotechknowledge.monsanto.com/BIOTECH/knowcenter.nsf/0/E2685AA53AA598C086256E1D00571233?OpenDocument


			<= A=20 onmouseover=3D"var = img=3Ddocument.images['kcTopicLibrary.gif86256E2000455B45'];img.src =3D = img.well[1].src;"=20 onmouseout=3D"var = img=3Ddocument.images['kcTopicLibrary.gif86256E2000455B45'];img.src =3D = img.well[0].src;"=20 = href=3D"http://www.biotechknowledge.monsanto.com/BIOTECH/knowcenter.nsf/(= RepositoryTypes)?OpenView&RestrictToCategory=3DTopic+Library">			= =

Crop Biotech Update 16 January 2004
16-Jan-2004=20
International Service For The Acquisition Of Agri-Biotech = Applications=20 SEAsia Center And CAB International

CropBiotech Update=20

A weekly summary of world = developments in=20 agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the = Global=20 Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Acquisition of = Agri-biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter = (ISAAA), and AgBiotechNet

January=20 16, 2004

In This Issue:

3D""=20 Six = Countries Now=20 Planting 99% of GM Crops 3D""=20 Biotech = Holds Great=20 Promise for Bulagarian = Farmers

3D""=20 ACRE = Issues Advice on=20 UK Farm Scale Trials 3D""=20 Europe = "Suffers=20 Economic Consequences" from GM=20 Moratorium

3D""=20 NCFAP: = GM Crops Could=20 Benefit European Agriculture 3D""=20 Malaysian PM Suppports=20 Agbiotech

3D""=20 Brazil = Going GM is Top=20 2003 Development 3D""=20 New = ISAAA-KC=20 = Website

SIX COUNTRIES=20 NOW PLANTING 99% OF GM CROPS
Brazil and South Africa now = join the=20 United States, Argentina, Canada and China as the = leading=20 growers of genetically modified (GM) crops. These six=20 countries, up from four in 2002, are responsible for = 99=20 percent of the global biotech crop areas. China and = South=20 Africa experienced the greatest annual increase, with = both=20 countries planting one-third more biotech hectares = than in=20 2002. This was reported by Dr. Clive James, chairman = and=20 founder of the International Service for the = Acquisition of=20 Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) in his latest = preview on the=20 global status of commercialized transgenic crops for=20 2003.=20
James also adds that the = remaining top=20 countries planting more than 50,000 hectares are = Australia,=20 India, Romania and Uruguay. Eight countries each plant = up to=20 50,000 hectares of biotech crops. These are Spain, = Mexico,=20 Philippines, Colombia, Bulgaria, Honduras, Germany, = and=20 Indonesia.
The preview published as ISAAA = Briefs=20 No. 30 stated that 7 million farmers in 18 countries = or more=20 than 85 percent resource-poor farmers in the = developing world,=20 now plant biotech crops. About 167.2 million acres or = 67.7=20 million hectares are now planted worldwide to biotech = crops or=20 about a 15 percent increase over 2002 figures.
For more information, read the = executive=20 summary at http://www.isaaa.org/kc. For publication orders write to = publications@isaaa.org. The preview is available free of = charge to=20 nationals of developing countries.
Translations of ISAAA's press = release on=20 the preview is also available in French, Portugese, = Hindi,=20 Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, German, Italian, Spanish, and = Spanish=20 (Argentina). Download these translations from = http://www.isaaa.org/kc.=20

ACRE ISSUES=20 ADVICE ON UK FARM SCALE TRIALS
The Advisory Committee on = Releases to=20 the Environment (ACRE) told the British government = that=20 biotech corn grown under the same conditions as in the = field=20 trials would not harm the environment. It also advised = that=20 biotech rapeseed and sugar beet, if grown under the = same=20 conditions as in the field trials, may have = environmental=20 risks. The advice was based on the results of the Farm = Scale=20 Evaluations (FSE) published in October.=20
British Environment Secretary = Margaret=20 Beckett stated that the government will review ACRE's = advice=20 "very carefully" before deciding on whether it will = recommend=20 the EU to change its rules on growing biotech crops. = She added=20 that "the Government is neither pro-nor anti-GM crops = =96 our=20 over-riding concern is to protect human health and the = environment, and to ensure genuine consumer = choice."=20
The Department for = Environment, Food and=20 Rural Affairs (DEFRA) reports that Ministers have also = received advice on the FSE results from English = Nature, on=20 behalf of the statutory conservation bodies. English = Nature=20 said that on the basis of the FSE results, genetically = modified herbicide tolerant (GMHT) spring oilseed rape = and=20 beet should not be commercialized, but that GMHT corn = may be=20 commercialized subject to certain conditions.
The DEFRA news report is = available=20 online at http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2004/gm-0104.htm. For more of English Nature visit = http://www.english-nature.org.uk.=20

NCFAP: GM CROPS=20 COULD BENEFIT EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE=20
"The widespread adoption of = plant=20 biotechnology in maize, oilseed rape, wheat, rice, = tomatoes,=20 potatoes, sugarbeets and stone fruit in Europe would = result in=20 significant yield increases, savings for growers and = pesticide=20 use reductions," says Leonard Gianessi, Sujatha = Sankula, and=20 Nathan Reigner of the National Center for Food and=20 Agricultural Policy (NCFAP) in their recent = comprehensive=20 study on genetically modified crops entitled "Plant=20 Biotechnology: Potential Impact for Improving Pest = Management=20 in European Agriculture."
Gianessi and colleagues added = that=20 collectively the nine biotech crops have the potential = to=20 increase yields by 8.5 billion kilograms per year, = increase=20 grower net income by =801.6 billion per year, and = reduce=20 pesticide use by 14.4 million kilograms per year. = Among the=20 six new case studies featured in the report, biotech = tomato=20 offers the greatest yield and grower income increase.=20 Herbicide tolerant maize, on the other hand, would = have the=20 largest reduction in pesticide usage.=20
The other findings of the said = comprehensive study are as follows:
Biotech herbicide tolerant = crops would=20 enable European growers to use fewer herbicide active=20 ingredients at a lower cost to achieve equivalent = (maize,=20 wheat, rice) or better (sugarbeet, rapeseed) control = with=20 higher yields.=20
Use of biotech varieties = developed at=20 European institutions could eliminate the losses and = enable=20 tomato growers to reduce their use of=20 insecticides.=20
The biotech potato that is = resistant to=20 the late blight disease provides another choice to the = management and control of the said disease.
A copy of the executive = summary is=20 available at http://www.ncfap.org/reports/Europe/
ExecutiveSummaryD= ecember.pdf.=20

BRAZIL GOING GM=20 IS TOP 2003 DEVELOPMENT=20
The most important development = for=20 genetically modified (GM) crops in 2003 was the first = approval=20 for commercialization of any GM crop in Brazil. = Specifically,=20 this involved the passage in September of a = Presidential=20 decree by the Government of Brazil to allow, for the = first=20 time, the planting of herbicide tolerant soybeans for = the=20 2003-2004 crop. Brazil is currently second to the = United=20 States in soybean hectarage and is projected to become = the top=20 soybean producer in the world. This observation was = forwarded=20 by Dr. Clive James, chair and founder of the = International=20 Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech = Applications=20 (ISAAA) in the latest preview on the global status of=20 commercialized transgenic crops for 2003.=20
James notes that the decree is = an=20 interim measure pending passage of a new law to = regulate the=20 procedures for evaluation and approval of all GM crops = and=20 thus is a provisional approval for one year to allow = planting=20 of GM soybean for 2003-2004. President Luiz Inacio = Lula de=20 Silva of Brazil had earlier officially approved the = sale of=20 the harvest from the 2002-2003 herbicide tolerant = soybean=20 crop.
An executive summary of the = Clive James=20 report (ISAAA Briefs 30) is available online at = http://www.isaaa.org/kc.

BIOTECH HOLDS=20 GREAT PROMISE FOR BULGARIAN FARMERS=20
Taking into account the = possibility of=20 adopting biotechnology in Bulgaria, Atanas Atanassov = and K.=20 Georgieva of the AgroBioInstitute in Bulgaria stated = that=20 "plant biotechnology is the most suitable alternative = (to=20 conventional farming), complementing the drawbacks of=20 traditional plant breeding programs which are rather = labor=20 intensive and time consuming."=20
Atanassov and Georgieva added = that=20 biotechnology is ideal in Bulgaria since it has a = continental=20 climate (very cold winter and very hot summer). = Diseases and=20 pests are also prevalent due to the varying climatic = and soil=20 conditions from region to region. Crop losses every = year are=20 estimated at 15 to 50 percent.=20
The authors recognized that = genetically=20 modified (GM) crops have indeed raised concerns in = Europe.=20 However, they believe that consumers should be = provided=20 sufficient information to enable them to make informed = choices, thus only then can GM crops be made = acceptable in=20 Europe. Open and informed debates about the science's = risks=20 and benefits must also be held with all the important=20 stakeholders.=20
Lastly, food supply is not an = issue in=20 Europe due to the large surplus of agricultural = products.=20 However, according to the authors, there is still room = for=20 biotech products and new technologies that could = improve the=20 nutritional value of agricultural products. They also=20 encouraged the creation of a regulatory framework that = is=20 based on sound science, and determined by experts and = endorsed=20 by policy-makers.=20
For more information email, = Atanas=20 Atanassov at atanas_atanassov@agrobioinstitut.org. The AgroBioInstitute website can also = be viewed=20 at http://www.geocities.com/PicketFence/
Garden/9151/=20

EUROPE "SUFFERS=20 ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES" FROM GM = MORATORIUM

A study of the Flanders = Interuniversity=20 Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) in Belgium argues = that=20 Europe has missed out economically through the ban on=20 genetically modified (GM) crops. Matty Demont and Eric = Tollens, researchers at the Catholic University of = Leuven,=20 base their findings on two case studies on GM sugar = beets and=20 corn.
Demont and Tollens concluded = that the=20 present situation (in which transgenic sugar beets are = barred)=20 is not economically rational. In addition, their study = on the=20 current cultivation of transgenic corn in Spain shows = that=20 Spanish farmers have clearly benefited from the crop. =
To estimate the consequences = of the ban=20 on transgene sugar beets in the period from 1996 to = 2000, the=20 researchers used a simulation model that took into = account=20 agricultural policy, the cultivation data of sugar = beet, and=20 the technology subsidy for transgene crops. According = to the=20 researchers, by not choosing to grow transgene sugar = beets,=20 the Belgian sugar beet growers have missed out on=20 approximately EUR15 million during this five-year = period, and=20 that worldwide up to EUR1 billion could have been = earned by=20 cultivating these sugar beets.=20
For the study on GM in Spain, = the=20 researchers noted that farmers gained EUR1.7million = annually.=20 Their profit was attributed to higher yield and lower = cost=20 from reduced use of pesticide. The biotech industry = also=20 reaped an annual profit of EUR0.5 million.
The = researchers=20 averred that 75 percent of the profits went to the = farmers and=20 25 percent to the biotech industry.
For more on the Flanders = Interuniversity=20 Institute for Biotechnology, visit
http://www.vib.be.

MALAYSIAN PM=20 SUPPORTS AGBIOTECH

The=20 Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad = Badawi,=20 believes the Malaysian government needs to catalyze=20 agriculture, agro-based industries, and biotechnology = -=20 "industries that appear to have good potential given = our=20 distinct advantages." He said that although Malaysian=20 biotechnology is still in its infancy, the country had = great=20 potential given its vast biodiversity. He shared these = thoughts during the NEAC Dialogue Forum in = Malaysia.=20
The Prime Minister, however, = stressed=20 that while "these sectors are on the government's list = of=20 priorities, it is still incumbent on the private = sector to=20 lead the investment and promotion of viable businesses = in=20 these industries. The government will ensure that it = supports=20 these sectors, in terms of incentives and funds, but = it will=20 not participate in a manner that will crowd out the = private=20 sector."
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur is the = site of=20 the Seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties = to the=20 Convention on Biological Diversity and the first = meeting of=20 the Conference of the Parties to the Cartegena = Protocal on=20 Biosafety to be held on February 9-27, 2004. Sessions = will be=20 held at the Putra World Trade Center.
Priority issues include the = biological=20 diversity of mountain ecosystems, the role of = protected areas=20 in the preservation of biological diversity, and the = transfer=20 of technology and technology cooperation. The other = meeting=20 will deal with issues such as information sharing = including=20 the Biosafety Clearing-House; capacity-building; = liability and=20 redress; compliance; and handling, transport, = packaging and=20 identification of living modified organisms.=20
For more information visit = http://www.biodiv.org/default.aspx=20

NEW ISAAA-KC=20 WEBSITE=20
The Global Knowledge Center on = Crop=20 Biotechnology (KC) recently updated its website which = can be=20 viewed at www.isaaa.org/kc. The Crop Biotech Update = news can=20 now be searched via the different news categories. = Also, the=20 global status carries the latest information on = biosafety=20 regulations, global value of genetically modified (GM) = crops,=20 global research and development (R&D) = expenditures,=20 labeling legislation, public attitudes of consumers = worldwide,=20 and position statements from selected=20 = organizations.

To stop receiving this newsletter, please send an = e-mail=20 message to knowledge.center@isaaa.org and write, "unsubscribe newsletter" = in the=20 subject box.=20

Do not hesitate to tell = other=20 colleagues/contacts about this mail list. If they wish to = join, they=20 should send an e-mail message to knowledge.center@isaaa.org leaving the subject blank and = entering the=20 one-line text message as follows: SUBSCRIBE Crop Biotech=20 Network=20

Please visit CropBiotech = Net web pages=20 (http://www.isaaa.org/kc) to view previous issues of this newsletter and = see other=20 available resources for download.

While we are still developing this site, feel free = to e-mail=20 (knowledge.center@isaaa.org) us for your views and comments on any crop = biotechnology=20 product and related issues.