July 30, 2014
Brazil wary over GMO corn's effect on pest mutation
Aprosoja farm lobby in Brazil's Mato Grosso state says that genetically modified cornseeds are no longer protecting the crop from tropical bugs, while costs increased for producers as they turn to pesticides, Reuters reported.
Ricardo Tomczyk, president of Aprosoja farm lobby, said that producers demand four major manufacturers of the BT corn seeds reimburse for the cost of pesticides this year. "The caterpillars should die if they eat the corn, but since they didn't die this year producers had to spend on average BRL120 (US$54) per hectare." he said.
Brazil's government is concerned that planting the same crops repeatedly with the same seed technologies has left the country vulnerable to pest outbreaks and dependent on toxic chemicals.
Seed companies say they warned farmers to plant part of the fields with conventional seeds to prevent bugs from mutating. Tomczyk also said Aprosoja encouraged the planting of refuge areas. However, he also said the seed companies have not given clear instructions.
Brazil expects to produce 78 million tonnes of corn this year.