Browse Data and Analysis

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...

The United Arab Emirates aims to build a technologically sophisticated, knowledge-based exporting economy. Its indigenous flora are characterized by genes that tolerate a challenging environment of high temperature, drought, and salinity. The date...

Bangladesh is pursuing advanced biotechnological crop research. In June 2023, the Bangladesh Academy of Science submitted a “Standard Operating Procedures for Research and Release of Genome Edited Plants of Categories SDN-1 and SDN-2 in Bangladesh”...

In September 2023, the government of Canada published a draft guidance document for plant breeders and feed manufacturers that reinforces Canada’s product-based approach and provides guidance on how Canada’s Feeds Act and Feeds Regulations are...

On January 20, 2022, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador declared the unconstitutionality of article 56 of the Law on Seeds, Agrobiodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture, which allowed the President of the Republic to authorize the introduction of GE...

Romania, a member of the European Union (EU), maintains a balanced view regarding agricultural biotechnology. Although no biotech crops are cultivated in Romania, most farmers view biotechnology as an instrument in managing the agronomic risks and...

The revision of the Malaysia’s Biosafety Act 2007 and Biosecurity Regulations are on-going, with no anticipated timeframe for publication. In addition, the Department of Biosafety Malaysia conducted a public consultation on Low-Level Presence (LLP)...

Although Panama highlighted the use of biotechnology in its Agricultural State Policy Law 352 of 2023, Panama has not yet established the implementing regulations of Law 48 of 2002, which created the National Commission of Biosafety for Genetically...