June 17, 2008

Egypt's approval of GM corn receives mixed reaction

Egypt's recent nod on the cultivation and commercialisation of a pest-resistant GM corn variety received mixed reactions from the scientific community.

The corn variety, which crossed the Monsanto YieldGard Bt Insect Resistant Corn (MON 810) with an Egyptian corn variety called Ajeeb, was called Ajeeb-YG.

The product was approved after trials revealed that it was resistant from the infestation of three corn borers, pests that can destroy a corn crop.

Magdy Massoud of the University of Alexandria in Egypt, said all studies prove the importance of GM corn for Egypt, where it increase yield and reduce the use of chemical insecticides.

However, Nagib Nassar, Egyptian professor of genetics and plant breeding at University of Brazil, raised questions on intellectual property, saying that what was originally an Egyptian variety will become not only registered in Egypt but owned by Monsanto.

Nassar pointed out that the corn variety would bear a heavy economic cost on small farmers as it remains to be seen what the content of the contract called Technology Use Agreement (TUA) is.

Some TUAs stipulate that farmers cannot save seed for replanting and farmers are prohibited from supplying seed to anyone else, Nassar explained.

Egyptian corn farmers will become dependent on foreign companies for their corn seed supply, some observers said.