January 29, 2008

ASA Weekly: Brazil faces boycott for soy planting in Amazon regions

International environmental organization The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has called for a boycott of Brazilian soy due to its advanced soy plantations into Pantanal wetlands and Amazon region.  According to WWF CEO Carter Roberts, the Amazon will become among the top seven emitters of greenhouse gases in the world unless the world has policies that recognize the value of standing trees and forests.

The Brazilian Vegetable Oils Industry Association (Abiove), in response, said it will double the number of areas inspected this year in Brazil's Amazon region as part of its soy moratorium. Independent technical teams will inspect 633 deforested areas in coming weeks, the largest number of which are in the Amazon Biome area of Mato Grosso, Brazil's leading soy producing state, the association said.

The inspections are part of the Brazilian soy moratorium wherein major companies such as Archer Daniels Midland and Bunge have agreed to not purchase beans from areas deforested after 2006. The technical specialists will determine whether soy have been grown in these deforested areas, said Abiove.

Funding problems not stopping US soy rust monitoring

US soy rust monitoring efforts are likely to face a funding challenge since USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) last summer indicated it was pulling its funds, amid a restructuring of its research budget.

"Since that time, and after many meetings and discussions, we have found a way to continue for 2009....[C]osts will be covered from a variety of public and private sources," said University of Kentucky plant pathologist Don Hershman, former chairman of the Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (PIPE). The basic issue is that a long-term funding line has never been developed for this project, said Jim VanKirk, director of the USDA's Southern Region Integrated Pest Management Center in Raleigh, N.C., and current PIPE chairman.

PIPE is the official parent program of the anti-rust activities undertaken by USDA's Cooperative State Research, Extension and Education Service (CSREES). Most notably, the PIPE administers the USDA's public soy rust Web site and helps to fund season-long monitoring of soy rust and soy aphids by university plant disease specialists.

New allocations for PIPE may be US$300,000 to $500,000 from RMA, approximately US$150,000 from CSREES, and US$364,000 from the soy checkoff, said VanKirk. The soy checkoff is funded by a percentage of producer soy sales and spent on such things as marketing, production technology and development of new uses for the crop.

However, despite the financial hardships, PIPE leaders say that specialists battling against rust, soybean aphid and other legume diseases under the PIPE umbrella are still developing strategies for continuing operations.

"Many state soy checkoff boards are subsidizing soy rust monitoring activities in their respective states," said Hershman. "So with all of these resources cobbled together, we are able to run the programs for 2009. That is why you are seeing continued reporting and the Web site is still active."

APHIS Introduces Biotechnology Quality Management System

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has introduced a trial of the biotechnology quality management system. The system is part of continued efforts to enhance compliance with the regulatory requirements for field trials and movements of certain genetically modified (GM) organisms.

APHIS has accepted five volunteer participants into the pilot project: Bayer CropScience, BASF Plant Science, JR Simplot Plant Science, Pioneer Hi-Bred International and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. The participants will develop, implement and maintain a quality management system within their organization to proactively manage the movement and field release of regulated GM organisms.

As part of the process, they will:

• Work to identify vulnerabilities in their processes for working with GM organisms;
• Develop or revise standard operating procedures that address vulnerabilities;
• Properly train personnel on the standard operating procedures; and
• Undergo a third-party audit to determine effectiveness of their quality management system.