Environment Forum
Global environmental challenges
Global area planted to biotech crops
Email 
Print
(Reuters) – Genetically modified crops were planted on 134 million hectares (335 million acres) in 2009, up 7 percent from 2008, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).
The following is a look at the global area planted to biotech crops since the world’s first crop, a biotech soybean, was introduced in 1996.
| Year | Hectares (million) |
Acres (million) |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1.7 | 4.3 |
| 1997 | 11 | 27.5 |
| 1998 | 27.8 | 69.5 |
| 1999 | 39.9 | 98.6 |
| 2000 | 44.2 | 109.2 |
| 2001 | 52.6 | 130 |
| 2002 | 58.7 | 145 |
| 2003 | 67.7 | 167.2 |
| 2004 | 81 | 200 |
| 2005 | 90 | 222 |
| 2006 | 102 | 252 |
| 2007 | 114.3 | 282 |
| 2008 | 125 | 308.8 |
| 2009 | 134 | 335 |
Source: ISAAA
(Reporting by Carey Gillam)
Post Your Comment
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
