Transgenic Horticultural Crops in Asia - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 156

adequate.and.affordable.food.in.Asia.is.daunting.as.the.key.production.resources.
of. available. arable. land. and. water. are. more. constrained. today. than. in. the. past..
National. and. regional. research. and. development. programs. for. crop. improvement.
and.management.remain.essential.to.meet.the.demands.for.staples.and.horticultural.
products.such.as.vegetables.and.fruits..The.food.price.hikes.of.2008.provided.addi-
tional.impetus.not.just.on.ensuring.food.security.but.also.food.self-suficiency.
Numerous.published.studies.and.experiences.have.asserted.that.biotechnology.
applications,.speciically.genetic.engineering.and.transgenesis,.could.make.a.sig-
niicant.contribution.in.helping.conventional.systems.increase.yields.while.provid-
ing. more. eficient. use. of. resources. and. products. that. beneit. human. health. and.
the.environment. 7 .Studies.have.also.suggested.that.increasing.crop.yields.through.
applications.of.agricultural. biotechnology.is. essential. to. increasing.food.produc-
tion. to. meet. future. needs. 8 . Since. biotech. crops. were. irst. commercialized,. there.
has. been. a. steady. increase. in. adoption. of. the. four. major. transgenic. crops. in. the.
market. with. around. 134. million. ha. planted. in. 25. countries. in. 2009. 9 . However,.
from.the.time.the.irst.transgenic.vegetable.(the.Flavr.Savr.tomato).was.put.out.to.
market.in.1994,.there.has.been.only.a.handful.of.transgenic.horticultural.crops.that.
followed. 10 . Among. these. are. the. virus. resistant. squash. and. papaya. in. the. United.
States.and.the.virus-resistant.sweet.pepper.and.papaya.in.China..Several.reasons.on.
the.slow.development.and.commercialization.of.products.of.horticultural.biotech-
nology.include.the.technical.challenge.in.developing.genotype-independent.trans-
formation. procedures. despite. the. fact. that. protocols. for. genetic. transfor.mation.
have. been. developed. with. success. and. reported. in. horticultural. crops. such. as.
Brassica,.cucumber,.chilli.pepper,.eggplant,.lettuce,.apple,.and.tomato. 11-14 .Where.
Agrobacterium . transformation. method. is. used,. technical. challenges. remain. on.
designing.strategies.to.avoid.its.persistence.in.plant.issues.especially.those.on.veg-
etatively.propagated.fruit.trees. 12 .Other.than.the.technical.constraints,.economic,.
regulatory,. and. market. factors. pose.additional.hurdles.to.developing.commercial.
biotech.horticultural.crops.compared.to.biotech.ield.crops.such.as.corn.or.soybean..
For.example,.the.relatively.small.market.and.the.limited.hectarage.of.horticultural.
crops. in. general. have. been. identiied. as. major. factors. that. limit. the. recovery. of.
product.development.costs. 15-18 .These.hurdles.limit.the.application.and.deployment.
of.biotech.traits.and.products.that.can.potentially.provide.broader.direct.beneits.
to.consumers.such.as.those.related.to.improving.nutritional.quality.or.enhancing.
aesthetic.quality..Moreover,.the.fact.that.most.horticultural.crops.are.consumed.as.
food,. in. raw. or. semi-raw. form,. apparently. elicits. a. more. extensive. and. demand-
ing. food. safety. and. regulatory. requirements. to. ensure. consumer. conidence. and.
market.acceptance.
HORTICULTURE CROP SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN ASIA
In.Asia,.horticulture.crops.mean.food,.income,.nutrition,.and.well-being,.particularly.
for.women..Asia.contributes.a.substantial.proportion.to.the.global.horticultural.pro-
duction,.particularly.vegetables.and.fruits..According.to.the.FAO,.the.area.harvested.
in.the.region.in.2007.is.equivalent.to.about.73%.and.48%.of.the.world's.vegetable.
and.fruit.production.areas,.respectively..The.cultivation.area.of.vegetables.is.about.