In late 2002 the National Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy (NCFAP) of the USA reported on the effects of crop biotech in the USA in 2001. The report stated that the six crops currently in the marketplace (soybean, maize, cotton, papaya, squash, oilseed rape) produced an extra 1.8 million tonnes of food and fibre on the same acreage, improved farm income by $1.5 billion and reduced pesticide use by 21,000 tonnes.

The GM crops studied included insect-resistant maize and cotton, herbicide-tolerant soybeans, maize, cotton and oilseed rape, and virus-resistant squash and papaya. Greatest yield increases were found with insect-resistant maize, while herbicide-tolerant soybeans gave the greatest cost savings through reduced herbicide use.

GM crops also enabled farmers to adopt no-till, conservation systems of farming, reducing soil erosion. For example, twenty-five million acres of herbicide-tolerant soybeans were grown using this method in 2001.

These numbers are staggeringly large and their significance is clear. GM crops are bringing great benefits to farmers and the environment. Furthermore, the report predicts that the additional twenty-one crops in the pipeline will increase production by 4.5 million tonnes, improve income by $1 billion and reduce pesticide use by 53,000 tonnes, if they are all adopted.

Full report at www.ncfap.org