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Soybean Intacta prevented an increase of 2.2 million hectares plating area in South America
Nov. 12, 2018
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 Maria Luiza Nachreiner Bayer's Soybean and Cotton Business Leader for South America |
By Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages
In addition to the various financial and productivity gains, transgenic soybeans prevented additional deforestation and allowed for a reduction in the use of pesticides and fuels in cultivation, contributing to a more sustainable agriculture, according to Graham Brookes Consulting's study, which estimated data compiled in the 2013/2014 harvest.
"In the 2017/2018 crop season, for example, an additional 2.2 million hectares would be needed if Intacta soybean planted areas were to be replaced by conventional (non-transgenic) soybeans - about 14 times the size of the city of São Paulo. Imagine if we needed to expand this amount of arable land to increase production?” asks Maria Luiza Nachreiner, Bayer's Soybean and Cotton Business Leader for South America.
She also points out that the adoption of biotechnology reduces the use of pesticides. "Decreasing the use of pesticides means using less machinery, which means reducing the use of fuel and, consequently, lower gas emissions. In the 2017/2018 harvest, this drop can be compared to the removal of 3.3 million cars from the roads, a little less than half the number of cars driving in São Paulo," she noted.
Nachreiner points out that this lower consumption of inputs and fuels was reflected directly to profitability. "According to a study by Graham Brookes Consulting, since the 2013/2014 harvest 73.6 million hectares of Intacta soybean were planted, generating a gain of more than $ 7.64 billion for producers, thanks to better productivity and costs of pesticides - the reduction was 10.44 million kilograms (-15.1%). The productivity, in numbers, cited by the same study, is 20 million tons more soybeans since the 2013/2014 crop - and only in South America," she points out.
"Assessing all these issues is part of our efforts to have modern, sustainable agriculture adapted to the evolving needs of our planet. Sustainability involves concern about the amount of food to be produced to serve the growing population, promoting less deforestation and more care for our future. There is no single answer. There is a set of solutions that, integrated, will help us (in fact, are already helping) to improve agriculture in all aspects," she said.
Source: AgroNews
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