October 18, 2001 -- The global area planted to transgenic crops is likely to reach 50 million hectares, or 125 million acres, at the end of 2001. Preliminary information from a global survey conducted by Dr. Clive
James, chairman of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), indicates that this is more than a 10-percent year-on-year growth compared with 2000. Despite
the ongoing debate about genetically modified (GM) crops, particularly in countries of the European Union, millions of large and small farmers in both industrialized and developing countries
continue
to increase their plantings of GM crops. 

Since 1996, when the first commercial GM crops were grown, the global GM crop area has increased 30-fold. More than 15 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, South
Africa and the United States have grown a cumulative total of 175 million hectares (over 400 million acres) of GM crops since 1996.

According to the ISAAA, the benefits of GM crops include: 

• More sustainable and resource-efficient crop management practices that require less fuel, conserve soil moisture and control erosion.

• Less dependency on conventional pesticides that can be a health hazard to resource-poor small farmers in developing countries applying pesticides with handsprayers and also result in
  environmental residues.

• Safer food and feed from products, such as pest-resistant Bt corn, which contains less mycotoxin than conventional corn.

• Collectively, these benefits offer growers and society more efficient and higher crop productivity that help contribute to a more sustainable agriculture and to the formidable challenge of ensuring
  global food, feed and fiber security in the future.