Brazil GMO soybean occupies 91.8% of the crop, says Céleres

According to a recent survey by consulting company Céleres, Brazilian genetically modified soybean occupied 91.8% of the crop planted in the 2013/14 season, with farmers seeking greater productivity and more efficient management.

The planting of GM soy was performed on 27.4 million hectares, a total of 29.86 million hectares, and a record area for culture.The genetically modified soybeans continue to lead in the adoption of agricultural biotechnology.

Compared to last season, the area with transgenic soybeans rose 11%, amid a growing planting of soybeans in the country.

Soybeans with herbicide tolerance accounted for 25 million hectares. And just over 2 million hectares were planted with the crop with herbicide tolerance and insect resistance.

According to Cèleres, "over the past few years, the evolution of the curve of adoption of varieties in Brazil has stabilized, especially due to the high adoption of biotechnology in crops of soybeans and winter corn".

"For this reason, the comparison between conventional and transgenic technologies becomes unviable, because conventional is not the standard used by the Brazilian farmer, except for the cotton crop, in which conventional technology is still attractive, "added the consultancy agency.

According to Céleres, "for years to come, the comparison between genetically modified technologies will be higher, while conventional technology will become a niche market, with high added value, with demand for GMO-free soybeans of European and Asian countries, such as France, Germany, Japan and South Korea".

Corn and cotton

Corn is the second crop with greater technology adoption in Brazil, with 12.5 million hectares, up 0.2% from the previous harvest.The adoption of transgenic corn totaled 81.5% of the total area in 2013/14 season.

The transgenic cotton occupied 710 thousand hectares, or 65% of the area planted with cotton.