January 31, 2007

Syngenta takes property fight to Brazil court again

The Brazilian arm of multinational biotechnology company Syngenta said Tuesday (Jan 30) that it has asked a Parana state court to review the government's decision to confiscate land it had owned to conduct research in genetically-modified corn.

This is the second time since November that Syngenta has appealed the government's decision to take over the property.

The 123-hectare property, located a few kilometres near Iguacu National Park in western Parana, was taken over by the government in November. The government claimed the site was illegally researching GMOs. The property is to be turned into a centre for so called environmentally-friendly agriculture, according to the Parana state government.

Financial losses from the property turnover are not yet available, a Syngenta spokeswoman said Tuesday. The property is currently vacant.

Activists from the Latin American agrarian reform group, Via Campesina, invaded the property in March, saying the company was illegally planting GMO corn near an environmental landmark. The property is a few miles away from a buffer zone near the Iguacu Falls, considered a National Heritage of Mankind by the United Nations.

The federal government's biosafety agency, CTNBio, allowed Syngenta to test GMO soy and corn on the site, CTNBio said in previous interviews.

Syngenta is one of Brazil's top agro-chemical retailers and GMO research firms.