2-Plants: Nearly half of Brazil's soybean crop is transgenic

[GENET <coordination@genet-info.org>]

                                 PART I
------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE:  Researcher says Embrapa invests in transgenic soybeans for
        strategic reasons
SOURCE: Agência Brasil, by Eduardo Mamcasz
        translated by David Silberstein
        http://internacional.radiobras.gov.br/espanhol/
materia_i_2004.php?materia=253680&editoria=NA
DATE:   23 Jan 2006

------------------ archive:  http://www.genet-info.org/ ------------------


Researcher says Embrapa invests in transgenic soybeans for strategic reasons

Brasília - In a special program, "Soybeans - A Big Business," broadcast
on Friday (20) by the Radio Nacional, the deputy head of research and
development at the Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Company)
Soybean Unit, João Flávio Veloso, affirmed that the company's
involvement with transgenic species for agricultural use is prompted by
a "strategic consideration."

In his view, it is important for the government enterprise to have its
own genes in order to give "support to this type of biotechnological
development, to keep in step with the growth of Brazilian agriculture."

The Embrapa head also pointed out that the government's investments in
transgenic soybean research hold out the "possibility of
biotechnological independence in the future, in the genomic sphere, to
keep Brazilian soybeans competitive on the international market." Among
the other reasons he indicated for Embrapa's efforts along these lines
is the fact that there are farmers in Brazil interested in transgenic
soybeans.

As for the "novelty" of the upcoming harvest, with its high percentage
of transgenic soybeans, Veloso believes that this reflects an attitude
of "curiosity." In future harvests, according to the researcher,
transgenic soybeans will have to "prove their worth," chiefly meaning
that they will have to show profits. One of the dangers he foresees in
this process is the possibility that royalty payments will wind up being
very expensive for farmers, who will be forced to make an economic assessment.

In the long run, the head of research at Embrapa's Soybean Unit said he
does not believe that one day 100% of the soybeans in Brazil will be
transgenic. That is why the company never "concentrated its research
program exclusively on transgenic species," although, at the moment, it
has 14 transgenic species of its own, "already licensed and ready to
fill farmers' orders." The species are of the type resistant to
glyphosphate herbicides.

The "great divide" that, according to Veloso, marked Embrapa's entry
into transgenic soybean seed research was in 1996, when it signed an
agreement with the multinational corporation, Monsanto, for the
"development of transgenic varieties." Embrapa currently has agreements
with other foreign companies, including one from Japan, as well as eight
partnerships with domestic seed producers. For the varieties it
discovers, the company receives around three percent of what the seed
costs in the form of royalties for "the right to use Embrapa's genetic
research."


                                 PART II
------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE:  Nearly half of Brazil's soybean crop is transgenic
SOURCE: Agência Brasil, by Eduardo Mamcasz
        translated by David Silberstein
        http://internacional.radiobras.gov.br/ingles/materia_i_2004.php?
materia=253675&q=1&editoria=
DATE:   23 Jan 2006

------------------ archive:  http://www.genet-info.org/ ------------------


Nearly half of Brazil's soybean crop is transgenic

Brasília - Nearly half the 58 million tons of soybeans that Brazil
expects in its next harvest are transgenic. This phenomenon, which is no
longer just a subject of debate, but a significant aspect of the new
Brazilian agricultural landscape, was the focus of a special program,
"Soybeans - A Big Business," broadcast on Friday (20) by the Radio
Nacional and available in its entirety to listeners on the Agência
Brasil's website.

According to the director of Research and Production of the Brazilian
Seed and Transplant Association (ABRASEM), Ivo Carraro, there will be
even more growth of transgenic soybean cultivation in the coming years,
because "the technology really makes the farmer's life a lot easier." He
pointed out that in some regions, such as Rio Grande do Sul, the
upcoming soybean harvest will be almost 100% transgenic. Bahia and Mato
Grosso, he says, are not far behind.

For João Flávio Veloso, deputy head of research and development at the
Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Company) Soybean Unit, the
expansion of transgenic soybean cultivation in Brazil is "only a
question of markets" from now on. That is why the federal government's
agricultural research enterprise is working to obtain approval for
various species discovered by members of its research staff. Approval of
these species, the sale of which which would give Embrapa a source of
royalty revenues, is up to the new National Technical Commission on
Biosecurity (CTNBio), which is in the process of setting up its council
of representatives.

In the opinion of the head of the Foreign Trade Department of the
National Agricultural Federation (CNA), Antonio Donizeti Beraldo, the
CTNBio needs to be more agile in authorizing the use of new transgenic
soybean species. According to Beraldo, this would end the dominance of
the multinational company, Monsanto, which controls the rights to
Roundup Ready, the world's most widely used brand. Donizeti considers it
essential "to democratize farmers' access to other varieties."

Another problem created by the massive introduction of transgenic
soybeans is the huge quantity of smuggled seeds that continue to be used
illegally. For the acting minister of Environment, Cláudio Langone, this
has entailed "very serious consequences" for the country. ABRASEM
director Ivo Carraro believes that the level of contraband transgenic
soybean seeds in Brazil "is nearly making it impossible to continue
doing research."

Environmental activists, who have always been opposed to the use of
transgenic soybeans, are trying to adjust to the new reality, even while
they persist in their belief that, in time, farmers wil go back to
planting conventional soybeans. This point of view is reflected in the
thinking of the coordinator of Greenpeace's genetic engineering
campaign, Ventura Barbeiro. At the moment he is focusing his attention
on issues related to consumer protection and enforcement of the Label
Law, which applies to every product containing more than one percent of
substances of transgenic origin.




--


GENET
European NGO Network on Genetic Engineering

Hartmut MEYER (Mr)
In den Steinäckern 13
D - 38116 Braunschweig
Germany

P: +49-531-5168746
F: +49-531-5168747
M: +49-162-1054755
E: coordination(*)genet-info.org
W: <http://www.genet-info.org>



-----------------------------
   GENET-news mailing list
-----------------------------