costa rica challenges and opportunities in biotechnology and.pdfVIP

Costa Rica: Challenges and Opportunities in Biotechnology and Biodiversity Ana Sittenfeld, Ana Mercedes Espinoza, Miguel Muñoz, and Alejandro Zamora odern biotechnology in agriculture (Sasson 1999). Argentina grew 4.3 million hect- came into prominence in the 1990s. ares of transgenic crops in 1998, a three-fold in- MFrom 1986 to 1997, approximately crease from 1997. Europe planted a small acreage 25,000 transgenic crop field trials were conducted of genetically improved (GI) crops: about 8,100 in 45 countries on more than 60 crops with 10 hectares of transgenic corn in 1997 mainly in different agronomic traits. Seventy-two percent France and Spain (Nutfield Council on Bioethics of all transgenic field trials were conducted in the 1999; Sasson 1999). In addition more than three- United States (James 1997). Approximately 40 quarters of the cheese produced in the US is made percent of field trials being conducted in devel- from a gene-spliced version of an enzyme called oping countries are for virus resistance, the bal- chymosin (Miller 1999). ance being for herbicide-resistance crops (25 The principal benefits of transgenic crops in- percent), and for insect resistance (25 percent) clude more flexibility in crop management, de- (Sasson 1999). By late 1997, 48 transgenic crops creased dependence on conventional insecticides involving 12 cultivars and six traits were ap- and herbicides, and higher yields. In 1997, the proved for commercialization in at least one coun- economic benefit to U.S. farmers was estimated try. More than 90 percent of the owners of this at US$133 million for Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) technology were private-sector o