Climate change reinforces the use of GM crops

Date:04-23-2014

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) points to an increased drought in the future, and that global warming will be dangerous for crops such as potatoes, corn and wheat. As a result, a deceleration of economic growth, food security commitment and even hunger in some regions has occurred.

In this scenario, a document from the United Nations (UN) highlights the importance of resuming the debate on transgenics in food production on a global scale. "There is no doubt that technology must be an ally to the farmer, to produce more and better, with less cost," said Alysson Paolinelli, President of the Brazilian Association of corn Producers (Abramilho).

"The farmer already understands that the use of transgenic varieties represents less costs and more productivity in less area", emphasized Paolinelli. And no wonder, of  the $24.8 million accumulated between the 1996/97 and the 2012/13 harvests by the benefits of using biotechnology in crops, the corn crop exceeded $13.6 million (or 55%) of this total, according to the analysis of the consultancy  Céleres and Celeres Ambiental for the Brazilian Seed and Seedling Association  (Abrasem).