Browse Data and Analysis

Ghana’s National Biosafety Authority (NBA) on Friday September 15, 2023, approved the Bt cowpea event 245F (Cry2Ab) for environmental release.

Although Mozambique has not yet approved the use of genetically engineered (GE) crops, an effort has been made to start drafting an updated biosafety/biotechnology law that will allow GE commercialization.

India remains undecided on genetically engineered (GE) crops and products derived from biotechnology (biotech) for food and feed use.

Brazil is the second-largest producer of biotech crops in the world with 105 events approved. For the 2022/2023 crop season, FAS Brasilia forecasts 68 million hectares planted with GE traits. Adoption rates for soybeans and cotton reached 99 percent and for corn, 95 percent.

Angola currently does not allow the production of genetically engineered (GE) plants or animals. Food aid imports containing GE ingredients are permitted with certain conditions.

On December 7, 2023, the Veterinary Service at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kyrgyz Republic informed the U.S. Department of Agriculture in writing that they will no longer accept the U.S. Department of Agriculture's, Food Safety Inspection Service, 9060-5 Meat and Poultry Export Certificate of Wholesomeness. USDA is actively working to resolve this issue.

Korea has not finalized the May 2021 revisions of its Living Modified Organism (LMO) Act, which defines Korea’s regulatory policies for products developed through innovative technologies including genome editing.

In July 2023, President Tinubu declared an "immediate state of emergency on food insecurity" to address high food prices and lackluster agricultural production. Nigeria is considered by some in Africa to be a leader in agricultural biotechnology as it has researched, tested, evaluated, and commercialized several biotech products, including cowpea, a staple crop for smallholder farmers across West Africa.

Honduras has made no modifications or changes to its existing regulatory framework. As of October 2023, Honduras had more than 55,000 hectares (ha) of genetically engineered (GE) corn production, a 6% increase from CY 2022. Two crop event approvals...

Peru continues to enforce the extended biotechnology moratorium. In February 2021, Peru extended the previous ten-year biotechnology moratorium for another fifteen years. Similar to the previous moratorium, Peru has yet to notify the measure to the...

The Philippines has been a pioneer within Asia in adopting biotechnology crops, and recently approved Bt cotton as the 4th genetically engineered (GE) crop cleared for commercial propagation after corn (2002), rice (2021), and eggplant (2022). The...

South Africa is amongst the top-10 largest producers of genetically engineered (GE) crops in the world and has approved 32 GE plant events for commercial cultivation since 1997. South Africa’s robust regulatory system for GE products, which started...