Author : James, Clive

Summary : Transgenic crops are proprietary, developed almost exclusively by the private sector in the industrial countries, with the majority of the global transgenic crop are-to-date grown in countries of the North. However, it is important to note that developing countries such as China played a pioneering role by being the first country to introduce a commercialized transgenic crop in the early 1990s. Argentina is a global leader in the accelerated adoption of transgenic crops with significant expansion imminent in Mexico and South Africa. Given that the food gap of many developing countries, including China, is expected to more than double in the next 25 years and that some developing countries like Argentina can meet some of those needs through exports, the long term potential and importance of transgenic crops for developing countries is evident. There are three considerations that underpin the strategic importance of transgenic crops for developing countries. Firstly, developing countries have potentially more to gain from transgenic crops than industrial countries because the area of almost all crops is far greater in developing countries than in the USA and Canada where adoption has been highest to date. Secondly, yields of almost all crops are significantly lower in developing than industrial countries. Yields are low in developing countries for many reasons but one of the principal causes is that crops in developing countries suffer much more from biotic stresses, due to pests, weeds and diseases, for which current transgenic crops already offer improved protection. Thirdly, and most importantly, it is in the developing countries, where 800 million people suffer from malnutrition today and where transgenic crops could increase crop productivity and contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty which are inextricably linked. Transgenic crops have much to offer developing countries and should be an essential component of a global food security strategy that integrates conventional and biotechnology crop improvement applications to produce more food where the need is greatest, and where teh welfare value of food is the highest.