September 3, 2007

 

Argentina approves Monsanto bundled transgenic corn

 

 

The Argentine government has approved Monsanto Company's (MON) bundled MG and RR2 transgenic corn seed variety for planting in the 2007-08 season, the company said in a press release Friday (August 31).

 

The approval marks the first time bundled genetic traits have been approved in Argentina. In February, the government simplified the approval process for bundled traits, allowing applications for a transgenic crop combining two already approved genes without a full analysis of the new crop.

 

Monsanto has a small amount of the seeds ready for this year's crop which will be used to test the technology, Monsanto Argentina spokesman Federico Ovejero said.

 

The seeds are genetically modified to produce a substance toxic to corn borer parasites and for glyphosate resistance, widely used as a herbicide to control weeds.

 

The new variety is expected to boost corn yields by 5 to 7 percent, Monsanto said in the release.

 

Argentine farmers already use seeds modified to produce the insect toxin in about 60 percent of the corn crop, according to Monsanto.

 

Only the US produces more genetically modified crops than Argentina. Argentina has over 17 million hectares dedicated to the production of transgenic crops, according to the International Service for the Acquisition Agri-Biotech Applications, or ISAAA, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the promotion of agricultural biotechnology.

 

However, conflict over royalty fees had pitted Monsanto in a bitter battle with the government. The company has been struggling for years to collect royalties on soybean seeds containing its gene for glyphosate resistance. The seeds were introduced to Argentina in 1996 and are now used in over 98 percent of Argentina's soy crop. However, the company has been unable to obtain a patent on the seeds or collect royalties from the majority of farmers.

 

Last year, Monsanto filed a number of cases in Europe, where it holds patents on the seeds. Argentina sells about US$2 billion worth of soymeal a year to the European Union, where it is used primarily for animal feed.

 

However, last year Argentina received an opinion letter from the Internal Market and Services Directorate-General of the European Commission. The letter supported the country's position that processed soybeans - in the form of soymeal - aren't covered under the patent on the genetically modified beans in Europe.

 

The company has vowed not to make the same mistake with its second generation of roundup ready soybeans, which are easily held over and replanted. Transgenic corn seeds tend to lose their traits through the generations, ensuring that farmers will return to the company for seed supplies.

 

Currently, only about 25 percent of farmers purchase licensed seeds, with others using seeds legally carried over from the previous season or purchasing illegal so-called "white bag" seeds on the black market, Enrique Murphy, executive director of the Argentine Seed Association, said recently.

 

Under Argentine law, producers are entitled to hold over seed from each crop for their own use in planting the following year.

 

Yet the country has made recent efforts to ensure that license holders receive payment for their seeds.

 

In May, the government created a new registry for seed users designed to stamp out the rampant illegal seed sales and planting.

 

"The government's goal is to have a seed market that is legal, transparent, guaranteed, and with clear rules of the game," an official from the National Seed Institute, or Inase, said on condition of anonymity.

 

The new registry will require growers of over 2 tonnes of wheat or soybeans  to certify the source of those seeds.

 

"Farmers who have been using illegal seeds will not be able to certify the source of those seeds and will have to go out and purchase legal seeds this year in order to comply," the official said.

 

However, the registry won't affect 80 percent of Argentina's farmers, who produce 2 tonnes of grain per year. About 40 to 50 percent of the area planted each year is held by large growers who are subject to the new requirements, the Inase official said.

 

"Varieties using (Monsanto's) gene are registered, and this will benefit Monsanto as many licensed seed producers have reached agreements with Monsanto to compensate the company," the Inase official said.