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JUNE 2016 SEEDWORLD.COM 17 has always been resisted by anti-GM activists although most Ugandan stakeholders including the president understand the need for it. This is just one example of the complexities amongst legal political and cultural frameworks that must be addressed in helping bring more nutritious food to more people. There are numerous products in the pipeline for developing countries Lynas says. Theres drought-tol- erant maize for Africa. Theres virus-resistant cassava in Uganda and other East African countries. All these use GM technology because there is no way to make these improvements with conventional breeding. However a lack of science-based and effective regulatory systems is a major constraint to adoption. Despite the anti-sentiment there are a number of African countries that grow biotech crops and thats only forecast to grow in the future. In 2014 South Africa planted 2.7 million hectares which was less than in previous years due to drought according to ISAAA. Sudan increased Bt cotton acreage by nearly 50 percent. Cameroon Egypt Ghana Kenya Malawi Nigeria Swaziland and Uganda conducted field trials on priority African crops the next-to-last step prior to approval. Additionally the Water Efficient Maize for Africa project commonly known as WEMA is scheduled to deliver the first stacked biotech drought tolerant maize with insect control in South Africa in 2017. From a nutritional standpoint one can only hope that Africa will see the same adoption of biofortified GM crops that China as seen with Bt cotton. Food Security in Asia After the commercialization of Bt cotton in 1997 about 7.1 million Chinese farmers had adopted the technology by 2009. Now it accounts for more than 85 percent of the total cotton area in China according to Jikun Huang a professor at the School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences at Peking University. Huang is also the director of the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy. Our empirical studies show that the impacts of Bt cotton have been impressive Huang says. On the average Bt cotton increased cotton yield by 9.6 percent reduced pesticide use by 34 kilograms per hectare reduced labor input by 41 days per hectare and despite higher seed costs net profit increased by about 225 per hectare. But Huang says the anti-GM sentiment has had a big impact on consumers attitudes toward GM food in China. Our surveys show that the percentage of urban consumers who perceived such food as unsafe for consumption increased by more than 30 percent from 2002-2012 he says. The publics concerns about GM food have obviously affected Chinas policy on the commercialization of GM technology. Bt cotton accounts for more than 85 percent of cotton production in China. GM technologies will play more important roles in improving agricultural productivity ensuring food security and improving farmers welfare. Jikun Huang However given the significant socioeconomic impacts of GM technologies the Chinese government has reemphasized the role of biotech in ensuring the nations food security Huang adds. GM technologies will play more important roles in improving agricultural productivity ensuring food security and improving farmers welfare he says. Earlier this year the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture reported that is has mapped a plan for the future of GM crops giving priority to the development of non- edible cash crops. For GM crops China only allows the planting of insect resistant cotton and antiviral papaya for commercial purposes explains Wu Kongming of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Chinas safety evaluation system on genetically modified crops is the worlds strictest in terms of tech- nical standards and procedures Wu says. The country also imports GM soybean corn rape- seed oil cotton and sugar beet. China the worlds largest net importer of soybeans imported 81.7 million tonnes of in 2015 which was 87.8 percent of its demand. According to Liao Xiyuan of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture in the coming years China will plant more non-GMO soybeans and improve yields to fill the gap between supply and demand. By 2020 China will expand its soybean planting area to 9.3 million hec- tares and work to more than triple yields. Liao says that next in line comes indirectly edible and then edible crops. Within the next five years China could push for- ward with the commercial cultivation of pest-resistant GM corn according to Liao who believes China cannot afford to be left behind in the GM sector and will con- tinue to push forward with its innovation efforts. This ease into the commercial cultivation of GM technology in China is designed to help bring members of the public along and allow for the proper educa- tion and communication. However concerns about