Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Record Increase in Transgenic Crops

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 12 2011 (IPS) - The land area planted with genetically modified seeds in Brazil has increased 20.9 percent over the last year, reaching 31.8 million hectares, according to a study by the consulting firm Céleres. A full 85.3 percent of soybean crops this year are from genetically modified seeds, reflecting a 16.7 percent increase.

Since 2005, when the current legislation was passed, transgenic soy crops have expanded from five million hectares to 21.4 million hectares this agricultural year.

Meanwhile, the area planted with genetically modified corn has increased 32.2 percent compared to the 2010-2011 season.

"Despite this growth, the further advance of transgenic crops in Brazil is hindered by the lack of seed varieties adapted to the different agricultural regions," Anderson Galvão, the coordinator of the study, told Tierramérica.