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Argentina approved GMO disease resistant potatoes, drought tolerant soy

Argentina recently approved GMO disease resistant potatoes, drought tolerant soy.Argentina is negotiating with China the approval of new transgenic soybean resistant to drought, developed by scientists and local entrepreneurs. Once China, the largest importer of soybeans in the world, accepts development, the company Bioceres Argentina, which has the license to use the transgenic event in a joint venture with the US firm Arcadia, will release the product to market.

Agriculture Ministry sources said that there is a ongoing dialogue with the Chinese authorities, but did not specify when approval might occur.

President Cristina Kirchner announced authorization of drought resistant soybeans, developed by researchers at the University of Litoral and the CONICET. The team succeeded in isolating a gene from sunflower (HAHB-4) and insert it into the soy to tolerate water stress (drought) and saline soils. According to Trucco, this would increase soybean yields by 14% especially in marginal areas. “It’s the first time that a GM soy that is not developed by the world’s major seed companies,” said the president of Bioceres, a company formed by farmers and Insud group, chaired by Hugo Sigman.

The President also announced the approval of a transgenic potato resistant to PVY virus which affects 50% of potato production and which was developed by researchers at the Institute for Research on Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology (Ingebi) under the Conicet.

“These two biotech events allow us to be the sixth country, along with Brazil, Indonesia, China and the United States to produce this type of biotechnology,” said Cristina Kirchner.