Brazil’s soy state loses taste for GM soy

Farmers in Brazil's top GM soy growing state-- Mato Grosso-- are shunning GM soy varieties in favour of conventional seeds after the GM varieties gave poor yields. According to a farmer quoted in media reports, he obtained an average yield of 60 kg per hectare with conventional soy  while fields planted with GM soy yielded less than 10 kg per hectare. The GM soy varieties used are glyphosate herbicide tolerant. Weeds are not so widespread in Mato Grosso so the herbicide tolerant feature of GM soy is of much less use.

Partnership of profit  

DuPont, the agri-biotech giant and the Philippines based International Rice Research Institute have announced a partnership to boost rice yields and stimulate commercial innovation. According to DuPont, the partnership will enable the public research institution to collaborate with the agri-biotech giant to increase global rice productivity. With this partnership, DuPont also intends to accelerate commercialization of hybrid rice varieties in Asia.

Plan to ban Bt maize  ---

The German agriculture minister, as quoted in media, plans to ban cultivation of GM variety of maize—MON 810-- in Germany. While environmental organisations called on the minister to bring in a ban immediately, the German plant-breeders’ association has opposed the plan. The minister said that plant genetic engineering is of no recognisable benefit to people  and consumers and farmers were rejecting GM plants.  So far, several EU countries and individual regions have banned GM plants that have been approved and assessed as safe in the EU.

US for GM wheat   ----

A survey by the National Association of Wheat Growers, a US based farm lobby group has found an overwhelming level of support from US wheat growers for the introduction of GM wheat. The study results may have an impact on large biotech companies, such as Monsanto, Syngenta and Bayer, which are not investing in GM wheat research, primarily due to consumer resistance. The survey shows a high level of support from wheat producers for the approval of bioengineered wheat. Over 76  per cent supported a petition sent out by the Association in January and February to wheat growers asking both public and private sectors to support the research and development of new technologies for wheat.

GM contamination in Mexico: Study  -----

A new study has confirmed that GM material did contaminate native corn in the crop's centre of origin in southern Mexico. The controversy first started in 2001 with an article in the journal Nature, which reported GM material in native Mexican corn. Experts say preserving the genetic diversity of corn in Mexico is important, in case those native genes are later needed to reinforce modern varieties. However an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published in 2005 did not find any evidence of genetic contamination. The latest study found evidence of  35S Promotor, a GM trait widely used in GM crops to promote herbicide or disease resistance.

Favour for non-GM soy in the US  -----

Low commodity prices, attractive premiums, and rising prices of GM soybean seed are forcing farmers in America to plant more acres of non-GM soybeans in 2009.  This will be the first time since 1996 that the  acreage under  Roundup Ready GM soybeans will drop as more and more farmers decide to plant non-GM varieties. There is also an increase in the demand for non-GM soybeans. Roundup Ready soybeans have taken an increasingly larger percentage of US soybean acreage each year since their introduction in 1996, reaching 92 per cent in 2008. But this could be the first year that the trend is likely to reverse.