The Use of GM Crops in Developing Countries
Case study 7: Herbicide resistant soybean
3.57 The genetic trait which confers tolerance to a specific broad spectrum herbicide can allow farmers to control a wide range of weeds while not affecting the modified crop.85 Herbicide tolerant crops are grown mainly in developed countries. However, more recently, they have also been used in some developing countries. In Argentina, more than 90% of the local soybean harvest in 2002 was produced from GM varieties, making it the world’s second largest producer of GM soybeans.86 The multinational company Nidera provides the majority of commercially traded soybean seeds (70%). The remaining fraction is sold by six other companies, including Monsanto which first developed GM soybeans resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, marketed as Roundup Ready soybeans (RR). It is noteworthy that the RR technology is not patented in Argentina, and that national legislation allows farmers to use farm saved seed, which accounts for 30% of all soybeans planted.87
3.58 Proponents of this type of GM crop highlight the fact that its use can lead to more efficient agriculture as the need for herbicides, machinery and labour is significantly reduced. Seeds can be drilled directly into unploughed soil which helps to prevent soil erosion (the so called no till practice). Conventional soybeans require regular application of a variety of herbicides, whereas RR soybeans require fewer applications of only one type of herbicide.
3.59 However, the use of RR soybeans in Argentina has raised several issues. Many critics are concerned about the dramatic increase in the use of the herbicide glyphosate.88 Since the release of RR soybeans, glyphosate sales have increased eleven-fold, amounting to 82.35 million litres in 2001. In part, this is a result of the expiry of Monsanto’s patent on the compound: in 2001, 22 companies were able to provide generic versions of the product at competitive prices.89 The ‘no till’ practice has also contributed to increased use. However, proponents point out that glyphosate has no residual activity and is rapidly decomposed by soil microorganisms.90 The increased use of glyphosate also significantly reduced applications of more hazardous herbicides in higher toxicity classes in Argentina.91
3.60 Others are concerned about the rapid growth in production of soybeans. In 1995, almost six million hectares of soybeans were harvested, predominantly for export; by 2001, the figure had risen to 10 million hectares.92 Several commentators claim that the use of RR soybeans is disadvantageous for smaller farms, and leads to deforestation, rural unemployment and food insecurity.93 The highly complex interplay of technological factors as well as societal, political and regulatory processes means that it is difficult to evaluate these various claims. With regard to the impact on farmers managing smaller farms (less than 100 hectares), recent research shows that they realised greater cost savings and an approximately 5% gain in gross margins than farmers operating larger farms.94
Footnotes85 As noted above, paragraph 3.8, this trait has also been achieved through the use of other methods, such as mutation breeding and gene transfer from wild relatives.
86 Qaim M and Traxler G (forthcoming) Roundup Ready Soybeans in Argentina: Farm Level and Aggregate Welfare Effects, Agricultural Economics.
87 Qaim M and Traxler G (forthcoming) Roundup Ready Soybeans in Argentina: Farm Level and Aggregate Welfare Effects, Agricultural Economics.
88 Joensen L and Ho M-W (2003) Argentina’s GM woes (Institute of Science in Society). http://www.i-sis.org/AGMW.php. Accessed on: 22 Oct 2003.
89 Qaim M and Traxler G (forthcoming) Roundup Ready Soybeans in Argentina: Farm Level and Aggregate Welfare Effects, Agricultural Economics.
90 Glyphosate is classified as “Unlikely to present acute hazard in normal use” in The WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard 2000-2002 (WHO).
91 Qaim M and Traxler G (forthcoming) Roundup Ready Soybeans in Argentina: Farm Level and Aggregate Welfare Effects, Agricultural Economics.
92 CIARA (2002) Datos Estadísticos, Cámara de la Industria Aceitera de la República Argentina, Buenos Aires.
93 Greenpeace (2002) Record Harvest – Record Hunger Starving in GE Argentina (Berlin: Greenpeace); Eduardo Rulli de Jorge (2003) Biotechnology and the origins of the Argentine catastrophe, Ecopartal 11 Sept 2002; Backwell B and Stefanoni P (2003) Soya solidarity or food apartheid: The business of hunger in Argentina, Le Monde Diplomatique Feb 2003.
94 Savings resulted from reduced use of pesticides and lower seed prices, as saved or uncertified seed is more commonly used by farmers managing smaller farms. See Qaim M and Traxler G (forthcoming) Roundup Ready Soybeans in Argentina: Farm Level and Aggregate Welfare Effects, Agricultural Economics.