Genetically modified crops sprout across Asia
David Barboza/NYT The New York Times
Friday, February 21, 2003



CHIANG RAI, Thailand Worried about falling behind its global competition,
much of Asia is rushing forward with the development and cultivation of
genetically modified crops.

The three most populous countries in Asia - China, India and Indonesia -
are already planting millions of acres of genetically modified cotton.
Other large Asian countries, including Japan, Thailand, the Philippines
and Malaysia, are earmarking billions of dollars for private and
government-sponsored research on biotech crops.

Because there are already 145 million acres (60 million hectares) planted
with biotech crops worldwide, mostly in North and South America, these
developments in Asia could pave the way for biotech crops to dominate the
world's food production.

"This is a significant development in the acceptance of genetically
modified crops," said Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes, a professor of
agribusiness at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "This is not only
a region where most of the population growth is, it's a region where most
of the food growth is."

Aware of food safety concerns, especially among Europeans, most
governments in Asia plan to move cautiously before approving the use of
genetically modified food crops, which are much more controversial than
nonfood crops like cotton and flowers. China for now is holding off on
sending its biotech food crops, from green peppers to tomatoes, to
market. But delegates at a biotech policy conference sponsored here last
weekend by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group said that spending
on biotech research and development was booming throughout Asia,
signaling undeterred confidence in the new technologies.

Malaysia is creating a biotech hub outside Kuala Lumpur that it calls
Biovalley. Indonesia is setting up its own industrial park, called
Bioisland. Even in Japan and South Korea, where some consumers have been
unnerved by the prospect of genetically modified foods, there are
investors and others spending heavily to develop biotech products.
Experts at the conference said most of these countries must embrace
biotechnology or risk seeing crops lose value in a fast changing
marketplace that promises a new breed of super-crops.

"They have no choice, because agriculture is their mainstay," said
ChoKyun Rha, a professor of biomaterial sciences at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and a conference participant. "If they don't
employ biotechnology, they're going to be left behind. They won't
compete. They would end up buying the seed from others, and that would be
biotech colonization."

There are also concerns that China - which after the United States has
the most advanced biotechnology programs - could come to dominate
agricultural production in the region, because it is so far ahead in its
research on genetically modified crops. Already, a majority of the cotton
grown in China, the world's leading producer, is genetically engineered
to resist pests. Besides peppers and tomatoes, China has developed
modified corn, tobacco, petunias and poplar trees. Other Asian countries,
meanwhile, are beginning to release their first biotech products. India
and Indonesia recently approved the planting of a variety of insect-
resistant cotton that drastically reduces the need for pesticides.

Indeed, biotech cotton is so popular with farmers that a black market has
emerged in several Asian countries that have not yet approved the
products. "There's piracy going on," said Clive James, head of the
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications,
an industry-sponsored group that tracks global plantings of biotech
crops. "These farmers think so much of this technology, they will steal
it." The enthusiasm extends beyond cotton. The Philippines has allowed
the commercial planting of biotech corn, a first for Asia. The
Philippines is also the site of the International Rice Research
Institute, which is working to use biotechnology to develop "golden
rice," a variety fortified with Vitamin A.

Critics of genetically modified crops say these moves in Asia could leave
consumers around the world with little choice but to accept them.

"It's troublesome, because these countries don't have the regulatory
infrastructure to assess the risks," said Dr. Jane Rissler of the Union
of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group that has been critical of
biotech crops.

But in the absence of any solid evidence that modified crops are harmful
to humans, scientists in Asia are experimenting on everything from
genetically modified corn, potatoes and papaya to biotech mustard and
chili peppers.

Biotechnology advocates in Asia believe that genetically modified crops
will increase food production, significantly reduce the use of pesticides
and insecticides and even create drought-resistant crops that can grow on
land now regarded as nonarable. Poor farmers' incomes will rise, they
claim, with the greatest benefits in the poorest regions. China has more
than 20,000 people employed in government-led research at about 200 labs.
Government spending on biotech research has tripled in recent years and
could top $1.5 billion for the five years ending in 2005, making China
second only to the United States.

The rest of Asia is now playing catch-up. India is conducting biotech
research at most of its major universities. Japan and South Korea expect
to spend over $300 million a year on biotech research. Malaysia wants to
genetically engineer palm oil trees to serve as factories of specialized
plastics for medical devices. Vietnam and Singapore, too, are exploring
the development of portfolios of biotech crops.