With 180 companies, universities, and non-profit organisations involved in agricultural biotechnology, four companies account for 57 per cent of all R&D. And just three companies -- Monsanto, DuPont and Bayer -- accounted for 3824 field trials of genetically modified crops last year, according to a new report from Bio Economic Research Associates, a US consulting firm.

A cluster of biotech-intensive entities have been created in the latest round of Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) grants, including a $17.5 million Australian biosecurity centre and a $28 million sugar industry innovation centre.