Achieving successful deployment of Bt rice

Abstract

An additional billion mouths will need feeding within the next decade. In spite of the extensive research and development that has been invested in Bt rice (rice transformed with insecticidal genes from Bacillus thuringiensis) and the success of Bt maize and Bt cotton, Bt rice is not grown commercially. Bt rice has the potential to eliminate yield losses caused by lepidopteran pests, estimated at 2–10% of Asia's annual rice yield of 523 million tons. Cultivation of Bt rice should also lead to substantial reductions in the use of broad-spectrum chemical insecticides, with benefits for farmers’ health, environmental quality and biological control of other rice pests. The major challenges are developing appropriate resistance management strategies and resolving trade policy impediments.