Crop Protection Traits Overview

The widespread adoption of plant biotechnology in major commodity crops has resulted in significant yield increases, savings for growers and pesticide use reduction. The successful development of additional biotech cultivars for pest management would have similar impact on other crops.  Our BtBooster and platform technology offerings can benefit the key leaders in the crop protection marketplace by improving their current technology.

Consolidation of Agrichemical Industry

The markets for our crop protection traits are large and growing.  Driven by an increasing worldwide population against a background of decreasing fresh water resources and farmland per person, strategies that increase crop yields are compelling solutions to filling the growing gap between food supply and demand. InsectiGen is developing a product range to assure a safe and available food supply. The total available market for crop protection traits is $30 billion. This market is currently growing at 11% per annum.

Impact of Biotechnology and Unrealized Market Potential

In 2001, eight genetically modified (GM) cultivars adopted by US growers increased crop yields by 4 billion pounds, saved growers $1.2 billion by lowering production costs and reduced pesticide use by 46 million pounds. These cultivars included insect resistant corn and cotton, herbicide tolerant canola, corn, cotton and soybean, and virus resistant papaya and squash. The adopted cultivars provided a net value of $1.5 billion, which was determined by adding any increased value of the crop plus or minus any changes in grower costs.

In spite of these dramatic results, significant unmet needs still exist and economic benefits remain unrealized.  An example of this potential for improvement is Bt cotton.  Transgenic Bt cotton has been commercially available since 1996. It has demonstrated remarkable control of some pests, particularly the tobacco budworm and the pink bollworm. Control of the budworm has been less dependable, and economically damaging infestations of this pest continue to occur in Bt cotton.  Other common pests such as fall armyworms, beet armyworms and soybean loopers are even more tolerant than bollworms.  In 1999 pests created over $1 billion in cotton losses worldwide, representing an unrealized benefit potential of $1 billion.  InsectiGen's BtBooster product potentiates the performance of Bt against these high value pests.