Browse Data and Analysis

The European Union’s (EU) complex and lengthy policy framework for biotechnology creates a challenging environment for research and limits access to innovative tools for EU farmers.

In March 2021, the Government of Canada published guidance on how Canada’s Novel Food Regulations are applied to products of plant breeding.

Mexico has not reported any official biotechnology food or feed products approvals since May 2018. Additionally, Mexico has rejected or delayed all permit applications for cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) cotton in 2019, citing the precautionary principle.

Panama did not make any policy changes regulating Genetically Engineered (GE) plants, seeds and animals (including for GE microbes) in 2021. Panama has not established the implementing regulations of Law 48 of 2002, which created the National Commission of Biosafety for Genetically Modified Organisms.

On December 15, 2021, the European Commission published a Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles, which outlines action items for the EU to accelerate carbon removal from the atmosphere.

Angola is facing its most severe drought in the last 40 years, impacting the food security of 1.6 million people in southern Angola, including more than 110,000 children under the age of five who are facing acute malnutrition, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

On December 15, 2021, four Dutch political parties reached an accord, nine months after elections were held in the Netherlands. Some of the highest priority issues for the incoming government are combating climate change and tackling nitrogen emissions.

Nigeria continues to deliver notable achievements in biotechnology research and development – spurred by strong support of the Government of Nigeria (GON).

The Venezuelan regime bans the use and research of modern biotechnology-derived agriculture. The United States is currently the leading exporter of biotech-derived crops to Venezuela, including corn, soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil.

Since the previous report, Taiwan has granted new approvals for imports of genetically engineered (GE) products for processing, food, and feed use.

Public support for agricultural biotechnology in Belgium is roughly divided between the Wallonia and Flemish regions with the latter more receptive.

The legal and regulatory situation to allow the planting of genetically engineered (GE) crops in Ecuador remains the same as 2020. Commercial cultivation of GE crops is not permitted, however cultivation for research is allowed and an exception exists for GE products without recombinant or foreign DNA in the genome.