GM seeds in Brazil exceed conventional cultivation

(14 December 2009) In Brazil, the amount of genetically modified (GM) seed is increasing rapidly. The results of a country-wide survey conducted by RPC Crop Expedition PRC demonstrate that in 2009/2010 even more GM seeds are planted than conventional ones, depending on the region and the crop. The reasons to decide for GM technology are various and linked with the particular situation of the region where the crop is used. Roundup Ready cultivars, for example, are meanwhile in their fourth generation and by now better adapted to the different regions of Brazil. This leads to more frequent use in comparison with conventional soybeans. Other reasons include costs and weed handling as well as logistics, market and price.

In Brazil, the most important crops are soybean and maize. To date, the only GM seeds available in the country are Roundup Ready soybean, which is tolerant to glyphosate herbicide, and Bt maize, which is resistant to the Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugi perda).

According to industry leaders in the three largest producing regions (Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná and Mato Grosso), 67.4 per cent of the complete cultivation area of soybean will be covered by Roundup Ready cultivars in 2009/2010.

The Bt maize acreage this year is eight times higher than in the year before, which represents 41 per cent of maize production. "The Bt-technology obviously works and is profitable for the farmers," points out Modeato Daga, a grain producer in West Paraná. He has applied no pesticide in 2009 to date, while neighbours already have had to treat their non-GM maize three or four times.

In the future, a second GM soybean seed may be employed. Brazilian authorities have approved the use of a new GM soybean developed by BASF and state agricultural researchers. This variety is tolerant to imidazoline-based herbicides and, according to BASF, launch of the seed is planned for the seasons 2011/2012, i.e. for first sowing around October 2011. This approval marks first time ever that the Brazilian CTNBio biosecurity commission has approved a GM seed with the participation of a government entity.