GMO Approvals – Global alignment is key to keep trade flowing

Biotech crops have contributed to:

• increasing productivity that contributes to global food, feed, and fibre security;
• supporting self-sufficiency on a nation’s arable land;
• conserving biodiversity, precluding deforestation and protecting biodiversity sanctuaries;
• mitigating the challenges associated with climate change; and
• improving economic, health, and social benefits.

A total of 29 countries planted biotech crops in 2019. Africa doubled the number of biotech countries from three to six in 2019.  High biotech adoption rates in the top 5 biotech countries impacted 1.95 billion people globally.  Double-digit growth rates  were recorded in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Colombia.

GM approvals database: GM Approval Database | ISAAA.org

Asynchronous Approvals of GMOs
Gafta is a member of the Global Alliance for Agri Biotech Trade (Gaabt). The Global Alliance for Ag Biotech Trade is a coalition made up of all the organizations that move food from the farm to the fork.

Together, these groups discuss and work towards global trade policies that facilitate the movement of seed, grain and processing ingredients, and reduce the potential for trade disruptions.

Biotech crops help farmers increase the production of grains, oilseeds and fibre while better adapting to the effects of climate change, such as drought, flooding, and unpredictable weather patterns and the accompanying pests. They also allow growers to more efficiently use limited natural resources. To help ensure global food and nutrition security, as well as affordable food, international trade of all agriculture goods must flow safely and efficiently from the markets they're produced to the places where they’re needed.

However, due to differing national regulations for agricultural biotechnology products, the introduction of each new biotech crop raises the potential for trade disruptions. The two primary regulatory challenges to smooth international trade of biotech crops are asynchronous approvals and low-level presence (LLP). Read more: AgBiotech and Trade (gaabt.org)