Vietnam to plant genetically modified corn

Vietnam has green-lighted the cultivation of its first genetically modified (GM) corn crop after leaving a number of disturbing questions unanswered.

 

In August, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development approved the imports of four corn varieties engineered for food and animal feed processing—namely, MON 89034 and NK603 , produced by DeKalb Vietnam (a subsidiary of US mega-corporation Monsanto) and Bt 11 and MIR 162 from the Swiss firm Syngenta.

 

Near the end of the month, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources issued a bio-safety certificate for Monsanto's MON 89034 corn variety, enabling farmers to start commercially cultivating the crop, which is banned in Europe and China.

 

The environment ministry is considering issuing similar certificates for the other three varieties, but it remains unclear when that decision will be made. Given the current political landscape, it seems unlikely it will do anything else.

 

Draft amendments to the Investment Law originally contained language that would ban investment and trade in GM products in Vietnam. But in the latest version of the draft sent to the National Assembly -- Vietnam’s legislature -- for debate on Tuesday, lawmakers slackened that provision and prohibited only “transgenic animals”.

 

Critics considered the amendment their last hope of keeping GM corn out of the country.