AgroPages-Nicaragua to release biotechnology use in corn and soybeans‏-Agricultural news

Aiming to increase yields, the Nicaragua government is close to release the use of biotechnology in the country's agriculture. The information was confirmed by Michael Healy, president of the Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua. According to him, a meeting in the end of this month will yet confirm this decision.

The union leader says that the government already provided a proposal of readjustment of the Law 705, which establishes prevention about risks coming from living organisms modified through molecular biotechnology. Producers analyzed the requirements and made a counter-offer.

Nicaraguan farmers already made several requests to release GMO to increase productivity. The biotechnology will be the firstly allowed on corn and soybean crops, predicts Healy.

"In the case of corn, it is known that Nicaragua imports nearly four million tons of GMO corn (at a cost of US$ 50 million) and that we can have problems when we strip taxes of some products [...] Therefore, we believe that it is an alternative to produce transgenic corn for the domestic market as well as to sell sorghum for the poultry sector," Healy justified.

"The government is interested (in the use of biotechnology on agriculture). What we (the producers) want is a combination of factors: research with our own seeds and yet imports. Now we have to guarantee the security in this issue," concludes Healy.