Is Global GM Crop Cultivation Growing or Shrinking? What the Latest Data Show

In 2016, headlines announced that global cultivation of genetically modified crops was declining. The claim came from an industry-supported tracking group that reported a small drop in worldwide GM crop area in 2015, the first decline since GM crops were commercialized in 1996. The same reports noted a second, more durable fact: most GM crops were grown in just a handful of countries.

A decade later, the picture has changed on the first point and held on the second. GM crop area resumed growth after 2015 and reached a record in 2024, according to both of the main organizations that track it. At the same time, cultivation remains heavily concentrated in a few countries and four crops. This article explains what the data show, why the 2015 dip happened, where GM crops are expanding and contracting, and what the numbers do and do not tell us.

Where the 2016 “Decline” Headlines Came From

For about two decades, the main source of global GM crop statistics was the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a nonprofit that promotes agricultural biotechnology in developing countries and receives funding from industry and foundations. Its annual reports tracked the area planted with GM crops in each country.

ISAAA reported that global GM area reached about 181.5 million hectares in 2014 and then fell by roughly 1 percent in 2015, to about 179.7 million hectares. That was the first year-over-year decline since 1996. ISAAA attributed the dip largely to low commodity prices, which led farmers in several countries to plant less of certain crops overall, including GM varieties. News outlets and advocacy groups opposed to GM crops presented the decline as a turning point.

It proved to be a blip rather than a trend. ISAAA reported growth in each of the next several years, to about 190 million hectares by 2019. Its 2019 report put the total at 190.4 million hectares across 29 countries, according to ISAAA’s Brief 55.

What the Latest Data Show

Two organizations now publish widely cited estimates, and their totals differ somewhat because of methodology, including how they count farmer-saved and government-supplied seed and which crops and countries they include.

AgbioInvestor, an agricultural biotechnology market research firm, reported through its GM Monitor service that global GM crop area rose 1.9 percent to 209.8 million hectares in 2024. Growth was driven by South America (up 3.5 percent) and North America (up 1.1 percent), while Asia declined 1.8 percent.

ISAAA reported a higher figure. As quoted by HumanProgress, ISAAA put global GM crop area at 218.71 million hectares in 2024, with 31 countries planting GM crops, a record, after Ghana and Kenya joined the list. ISAAA also reported that 44 countries had approved planting of GM crops at some point since 1996.

Either way, 2024 set a new high. The long-term trend is clear growth, with the pace slowing as the major adopting countries approach near-complete adoption for their main GM crops.

A Handful of Countries Dominate

The concentration noted in 2016 remains the most striking feature of global GM agriculture. According to AgbioInvestor data reported by Seed World, the United States planted 75.4 million hectares of GM crops in 2024, Brazil 67.9 million, and Argentina 23.8 million. Together those three countries account for roughly 167 million hectares, about four-fifths of the global total by that estimate. India and Canada follow at a distance, and the remaining two dozen or so GM-growing countries together account for a small share.

Several factors explain the concentration. These countries are among the world’s largest producers and exporters of soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola, the crops for which GM varieties have been commercially successful. Their regulatory systems approved GM crops early. Their large-scale commercial farms adopted herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant traits quickly because the traits simplified weed and pest management across large acreages. And their main export markets, including China, which imports enormous volumes of soybeans for animal feed, accept GM grain for processing.

Four Crops Make Up Almost All GM Area

GM agriculture is concentrated by crop as well as by country. AgbioInvestor’s 2024 data, as reported by Seed World, show soybeans covering about 105.1 million hectares, roughly half of global GM area, followed by corn at 68.4 million hectares, cotton at 24.8 million, and canola at 10.4 million. Everything else, including sugar beets, alfalfa, papaya, squash, eggplant, potatoes, apples, and a few newer crops, adds up to only a small fraction.

Crop	GM area, 2024	Main traits	Leading countries
Soybean	~105.1 million ha	Herbicide tolerance; insect resistance in South America	Brazil, U.S., Argentina, Paraguay
Corn (maize)	~68.4 million ha	Insect resistance, herbicide tolerance, stacked traits	U.S., Brazil, Argentina, South Africa
Cotton	~24.8 million ha	Insect resistance (Bt), herbicide tolerance	India, U.S., Pakistan, China, Brazil
Canola	~10.4 million ha	Herbicide tolerance	Canada, U.S., Australia
Other crops	Small share	Virus resistance, non-browning, drought tolerance, others	Various

This crop pattern reflects economics. The traits that proved commercially successful, herbicide tolerance and insect resistance, offer the most value in large-scale commodity crops where they simplify management across large fields. Food crops eaten directly by people, such as wheat, rice, and most fruits and vegetables, have seen few GM varieties commercialized, partly because of consumer and export-market resistance and partly because of the cost of regulatory approval relative to smaller markets.

Where GM Area Is Shrinking

Growth is not universal. AgbioInvestor data showed the largest percentage declines in 2024 in Pakistan (down about 16.7 percent) and India (down about 7.1 percent), with small declines in South Africa, Canada, and Australia, according to Seed World’s report.

The declines in South Asia are tied mainly to cotton. India adopted insect-resistant Bt cotton in 2002, and it spread rapidly across the country’s cotton belt. Over time, however, the pink bollworm, one of the pests the technology was designed to control, developed resistance to the Bt proteins in widely grown varieties. Combined with weather, pest pressure from other insects, market prices, and farmers’ shifts to other crops, this has reduced cotton area and the economic advantage of the technology in some regions. In Pakistan, cotton area has also been affected by weather, pest outbreaks, and competition from other crops.

These cases are a reminder that GM traits are not permanent solutions. Pests and weeds evolve resistance when a single control method is used intensively, as has happened with glyphosate-resistant weeds in the Americas and Bt-resistant insects in several countries. Resistance management, including refuges of non-Bt crops and rotating control methods, is essential to keeping traits effective.

Where Adoption Is Growing

South America. Brazil and Argentina continue to expand GM soybean and corn area as they expand agriculture overall. Argentina saw particularly strong growth in 2024, according to AgbioInvestor. Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia also plant GM soybeans.

Africa. Adoption has been slow but is picking up. ISAAA reported that Ghana and Kenya began planting GM crops in 2024. Nigeria has approved several GM crops, including insect-resistant cowpea and TELA maize, which combines drought tolerance with insect resistance, as highlighted in ISAAA’s 2024 report summary. Several African countries have also approved Bt cotton.

Asia. China, a major grower of Bt cotton for decades, has in recent years begun approving GM corn and soybean varieties for commercial planting, a potentially significant source of future growth given the size of its corn area. Vietnam and the Philippines have expanded GM corn. Bangladesh has grown insect-resistant Bt eggplant since 2014.

Europe. The European Union remains a very small grower. Spain, the only EU country with substantial GM cultivation, grows insect-resistant maize, and its area grew in 2024 according to AgbioInvestor. Many EU member states prohibit GM cultivation on their territory under rules that allow them to opt out. The EU nonetheless imports large quantities of GM soybeans and corn for animal feed.

New traits. ISAAA’s 2024 summary also highlighted Australia’s approval of a banana resistant to Panama disease (TR4), a fungal disease threatening banana production worldwide, and Brazil’s high-yield GM eucalyptus. Drought-tolerant HB4 wheat, developed in Argentina, has been approved for cultivation or import in several countries.

Why Most Countries Grow Few or No GM Crops

Although GM area has grown, most of the world’s countries do not grow GM crops, and many that have approved them grow very little. Several factors explain this.

Regulation. Approval processes in many countries are lengthy and expensive, and some have banned GM cultivation outright. Mexico, for example, amended its constitution in 2025 to ban planting of GM corn.

Trade. Farmers exporting to markets with strict GM rules may avoid GM varieties to protect access and premiums.

Crop mix. Countries whose agriculture centers on crops without commercial GM varieties, such as rice, wheat, or fruits and vegetables, have little to adopt.

Public opinion and politics. Public skepticism, especially in Europe, has shaped policy regardless of scientific assessments of safety.

Farm structure and seed systems. Smallholder farmers who save seed or buy from local markets may not benefit in the same way from patented hybrid seed technologies, and seed costs can be a barrier.

What the Area Numbers Don’t Tell You

Hectares planted are an imperfect measure of GM agriculture’s impact. Several limitations are worth keeping in mind.

Area is not benefit. The area planted says nothing on its own about yields, farmer income, pesticide use, or environmental effects. A 2014 meta-analysis by Klümper and Qaim found that, on average, GM crop adoption raised yields by 22 percent, cut chemical pesticide use by 37 percent, and increased farmer profits by 68 percent, with larger gains in developing countries, though those averages mask large variation by crop, trait, and region.

Saturation limits growth. In the U.S., Brazil, and Argentina, GM adoption for soybeans, corn, and cotton is already above 90 percent in many cases. Future area growth there depends on total crop area, not on further adoption.

Gene-edited crops are often counted separately. Many countries do not regulate or count gene-edited crops as GMOs if they contain no foreign DNA. As gene editing spreads, traditional GM area statistics may undercount the reach of biotechnology.

Data sources differ. ISAAA and AgbioInvestor totals differ by roughly 9 million hectares for 2024. Both are industry-linked sources, and independent national statistics are available for only some countries, such as the USDA’s adoption data for the United States.

Inside the United States: Near-Complete Adoption

The United States, the largest GM-growing country, offers the clearest picture of what saturation looks like. USDA’s Economic Research Service tracks adoption annually. For years, more than 90 percent of U.S. corn, soybean, and cotton acreage has been planted with genetically engineered varieties, most carrying herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, or both. Sugar beets and canola show similarly high adoption.

At those levels, U.S. GM crop area rises and falls mainly with total acreage of the crops themselves. When farmers shift land from corn to soybeans, or plant fewer acres of cotton because of prices, GM area moves accordingly, even though adoption rates barely change. That is why year-to-year changes in U.S. GM area say more about commodity markets than about attitudes toward the technology.

Beyond Commodity Crops

A small but growing set of GM products targets consumers or specific problems rather than large-scale commodity farming.

Virus-resistant papaya. In Hawaii, papaya ringspot virus devastated orchards in the 1990s. A genetically engineered virus-resistant papaya, commercialized in 1998, is widely credited with saving the state’s papaya industry.

Non-browning apples and low-bruise potatoes. Engineered to reduce browning and bruising, these products aim to cut food waste and have been sold in the U.S. and Canada.

Pink pineapple. A GM pineapple with pink flesh, produced by increasing a pigment naturally found in tomatoes, has been sold in the United States as a specialty fruit.

Bt eggplant. Bangladesh introduced insect-resistant eggplant in 2014 to reduce heavy insecticide spraying against the fruit and shoot borer, and it has since spread among farmers there.

Golden Rice. Engineered to produce beta-carotene to address vitamin A deficiency, Golden Rice was approved for commercial cultivation in the Philippines in 2021. In 2024, a Philippine appeals court halted its commercial propagation, along with Bt eggplant, in response to a petition from opponents, illustrating how legal and political challenges can slow even humanitarian-focused traits.

These products are small in area but significant in showing how the technology can be applied beyond herbicide tolerance and insect resistance.

Gene-Edited Foods Already on the Market

Gene editing has begun producing commercial products, often under lighter regulation than transgenic crops. In Japan, a tomato edited to contain higher levels of GABA, a compound marketed for relaxation and blood pressure, went on sale in 2021, and gene-edited fish, including a faster-growing red sea bream, have also been approved there. In the United States, a high-oleic soybean oil from gene-edited soybeans was introduced in 2019, and gene-edited mustard greens with reduced pungency were launched in 2023.

Because many of these products contain no foreign DNA, several countries do not classify them as GMOs, and they do not appear in GM crop area statistics. As more gene-edited crops reach fields, measuring the true footprint of agricultural biotechnology will require looking beyond traditional GM totals.

Why Farmers Choose GM Seed, and Why Some Don’t

Farmers who adopt GM varieties commonly cite simpler and more flexible weed control, reduced insecticide spraying, less labor, and more consistent yields under pest pressure. Herbicide-tolerant crops also made no-till farming easier, which can reduce soil erosion and fuel use.

Farmers who avoid or abandon GM seed point to higher seed costs and technology fees, the inability to save and replant patented seed, the spread of resistant weeds and insects that erode the benefits, and access to premium markets for non-GM and organic crops. In some countries, a lack of approved varieties suited to local conditions is the main barrier. These trade-offs explain why adoption is near-universal for some crops and regions and absent in others.

The Environmental Record

Three decades of large-scale GM cultivation have produced a mixed environmental record. Insect-resistant crops have allowed substantial reductions in insecticide spraying in many regions, a finding reflected in the meta-analysis by Klümper and Qaim, which attributed most pesticide reductions to insect-resistant traits. In some areas, reduced spraying has helped beneficial insects and lowered farmworker exposure. Herbicide-tolerant crops made no-till and reduced-tillage farming easier, which can lower soil erosion and fuel use.

On the other side, heavy reliance on glyphosate with herbicide-tolerant crops led to widespread glyphosate-resistant weeds, prompting farmers to add older herbicides, and increased herbicide use overall in some systems. Insect resistance to Bt traits has emerged in several pests, including the pink bollworm in India and some corn pests in the Americas. Researchers have also linked the near-elimination of milkweed from herbicide-treated crop fields to habitat loss for monarch butterflies in parts of the U.S. Midwest.

The National Academies’ 2016 review concluded that the environmental effects of GM crops depend heavily on how they are managed, and that problems such as resistance reflect farming practices and pest management choices as much as the technology itself.

Two Ways to Read the Same Numbers

GM crop statistics are routinely used by both supporters and critics of the technology, often to argue opposite conclusions.

Supporters point to steady growth, a record number of adopting countries, and the speed with which farmers have taken up GM seed where it is available. They argue that farmers, who pay more for GM seed, would not keep buying it unless it delivered value, and they highlight new traits aimed at drought, disease, and nutrition in developing countries.

Critics point to the same concentration that the 2016 headlines emphasized: after nearly 30 years, GM agriculture remains dominated by a few countries, four commodity crops, and two main traits, much of it used for animal feed, biofuels, and processed food ingredients rather than for crops that feed people directly. They highlight herbicide-resistant weeds, insect resistance to Bt traits, rising seed costs, and corporate consolidation in the seed industry, and they note that promised traits such as drought tolerance and improved nutrition have reached farmers slowly.

Both readings contain truth. Adoption has grown and continues to spread to new places, and the technology has delivered measurable benefits in many settings. It has also remained narrow in scope, and its most widely used traits face growing resistance problems that require careful management.

A Timeline of GM Crop Adoption

Year	Milestone
1994–96	First GM foods marketed in the U.S.; large-scale planting of GM soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola begins in 1996
2002	India approves Bt cotton, which spreads rapidly across its cotton belt
2003–05	Brazil legalizes GM soybeans, eventually becoming the second-largest GM grower
2014	Bangladesh introduces Bt eggplant; global area about 181.5 million hectares
2015	First year-over-year decline in global GM area, about 1 percent, amid low commodity prices
2019	Global area about 190.4 million hectares in 29 countries
2024	Record area of roughly 210–219 million hectares; Ghana and Kenya begin planting; 31 countries in total
2025–26	Mexico enshrines ban on GM corn planting in its constitution; gene-edited crops expand under separate rules in several countries

What It Means for Shoppers

For consumers in the United States, the global statistics have a practical meaning: GM crops are the norm for the major commodity crops grown domestically. Most U.S. corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, and sugar beets are genetically engineered, so ingredients derived from them, such as corn syrup, cornstarch, soybean oil, soy lecithin, canola oil, cottonseed oil, and beet sugar, are common in processed foods. Meat, dairy, and eggs from conventionally raised animals typically come from animals fed GM corn and soy, although animal products themselves are not considered genetically engineered.

Fresh produce is a different story. Only a handful of GM fruits and vegetables are sold in the U.S., including some papaya, summer squash, sweet corn, potatoes, apples, and pink pineapple. Most fresh fruits and vegetables are not genetically engineered.

Shoppers who want to avoid GM ingredients can look for USDA Organic certification, which prohibits genetic engineering, or third-party non-GMO verification. Products containing detectable GM material above a threshold must carry a federal bioengineered disclosure, although highly refined ingredients are often exempt.

Looking Ahead

Several developments are likely to shape GM crop area over the next decade.

China. If China expands commercial planting of GM corn and soybeans at scale, it could add substantially to global area and shift the concentration picture.

Africa. Drought-tolerant and insect-resistant maize, pest-resistant cowpea, and Bt cotton are spreading in several African countries. Adoption will depend on seed systems, regulation, and farmers’ experience.

Gene editing. Crops with small, targeted edits are reaching markets in the U.S., Japan, and other countries, often regulated differently from transgenic crops. Their growth may not appear in traditional GM statistics.

Climate traits. Drought, heat, and disease tolerance are major research priorities. Whether they deliver meaningful yield stability in farmers’ fields, as opposed to trials, remains to be seen.

Resistance management. The durability of existing herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant traits will depend on how well farmers and companies manage weed and pest resistance.

Trade and politics. Decisions by major importers, such as the European Union and China, and by producing countries, such as Mexico, will continue to shape where GM crops are grown and sold.

How to Read GM Crop Headlines

The 2016 “decline” headlines are a useful lesson in reading agricultural statistics. A single year’s change in planted area often reflects commodity prices, weather, and farmers’ overall planting decisions rather than a shift in attitudes toward a technology. When low prices lead farmers to plant less corn or cotton overall, GM area in those crops falls too, even if adoption rates are unchanged. Looking at adoption rates, meaning the share of a crop planted with GM varieties, alongside total area gives a clearer picture than area alone.

It also helps to check who produces the data. ISAAA and AgbioInvestor both have connections to the biotech industry, and advocacy groups on both sides select figures that support their positions. Government statistics, such as the USDA’s annual adoption data for the United States, provide an independent check where available.

How GM Crop Data Are Collected

Global GM area estimates are compiled from a patchwork of sources: national government statistics where they exist, seed industry sales data, surveys of farmers and agronomists, and regulatory records. Some countries publish detailed official data, as the U.S. does through USDA surveys, while others provide little. Estimating GM area in countries where farmers save seed or where unapproved GM seed circulates informally, as has happened with cotton in parts of South Asia, is especially difficult.

That is one reason the two main estimates for 2024 differ by several million hectares, and why users of these figures should treat them as reasonable approximations rather than precise counts. Trends over time within the same data source are generally more reliable than comparisons between sources.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is global GMO cultivation declining?

No. After a small dip of about 1 percent in 2015, global GM crop area resumed growth and reached a record of roughly 210 to 219 million hectares in 2024, depending on the data source.

Which countries grow the most GM crops?

The United States, Brazil, and Argentina account for about four-fifths of global GM area. India, Canada, and Paraguay are also significant growers.

What are the main GM crops?

Soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola account for nearly all GM area. Soybeans alone cover roughly half.

How many countries grow GM crops?

ISAAA reported 31 countries planting GM crops in 2024, a record, with 44 countries having approved GM cultivation at some point since 1996.

Does Europe grow GM crops?

Very little. Spain grows most of the EU’s small GM maize area, and many member states ban cultivation. The EU imports large amounts of GM soybeans and corn for animal feed.

Are gene-edited crops counted as GM crops?

Often not. Many countries regulate gene-edited crops without foreign DNA differently from transgenic GM crops, and they may not be included in GM area statistics.

Why did GM crop area fall in 2015?

The roughly 1 percent decline was largely attributed to low commodity prices, which led farmers in several countries to plant less of some crops overall. Growth resumed the following year.

Is GM crop area still growing in 2026?

The most recent full-year estimates, for 2024, showed growth to a record high. Growth is now slower because the largest adopting countries already use GM varieties on most of their corn, soybean, and cotton acreage.

References

1. AgbioInvestor GM Monitor. Total GM Crop Areas Increased in 2024. April 22, 2025. gm.agbioinvestor.com
2. Seed World. Adoption Record: Transgenic Crops Reached 210 Million Hectares in 2024. July 21, 2025. seedworld.com
3. HumanProgress. The Global Proliferation of GM Crops (citing ISAAA 2024 data). humanprogress.org
4. ISAAA report summary: Top Producers of Biotech/GM Crops in 2024. April 2026. iasvn.org
5. ISAAA. Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2019. Brief 55. isaaa.org
6. Klümper W, Qaim M. A meta-analysis of the impacts of genetically modified crops. PLOS ONE. 2014;9(11):e111629. PMID 25365303
7. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects. 2016. nap.nationalacademies.org

Last updated: September 26, 2026