USA and Canada:
Monsanto seeks regulatory approval for drought-tolerant GM maize

(10 March 2009) US-based Monsanto has applied for approval of a GM maize highly tolerant to drought. The new maize was developed together with Germany's BASF and should be commercially available in 2012.

According to a statement issued in St. Louis/USA, Monsanto has submitted to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) all documents required for a risk assessment of the drought-tolerant maize. Monsanto had previously filed for regulatory clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration as to the risk to human health.

Both Monsanto and BASF had come to an agreement in early 2007 to collaborate on a wide-scale basis on the research and development of crops with a high tolerance to drought, heat or salt. The drought-tolerant biotech maize is the most advanced of the projects underway.

According to the two companies, the new biotech maize product proved itself in field studies carried out in the US Midwest last year. It delivered 6 to 10 percent higher yields in arid conditions without additional irrigation compared to conventional maize grown in the same conditions. Four to six million hectares of agricultural land are threatened by drought each year in the USA.

Improved drought tolerance is an additional trait to be introduced to the range of GM maize products already on the market. Eighty percent of the US maize harvest currently comes from insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant GM maize.

Further information:

• Monsanto Completes Regulatory Submissions in U.S. and Canada for World's First Biotech Drought-Tolerant Maize Product (Press Release 09.03.2009)
• GMO Safety: Drought-tolerant wheat: "Promising results"