Planting the future: opportunities and challenges for using ... - EASAC

Appendix 3
Background information on comparator countries
1 Argentina
1.1 Status
Argentina first adopted GM crops in 1996 (glyphosatetolerant
soybean), and within four growing seasons
nearly 100% of the soybeans planted were GM. Soybean
production increased dramatically during this time, from
12 million tonnes produced in 1996 to 52 million tonnes
produced in 2010 (FAOSTATS). Over 22 million hectares
have been planted with GM soybeans, maize and cotton
since the country first commercialised the technology.
GM crops account now for nearly all soybeans and cotton
crops, and 86% of maize crops (Trigo, 2011).
In 2012 Argentina approved the second-generation GM
soybean, which combines herbicide tolerance with a gene
reported to drive higher yields 36 . With this approval the
number of GM events authorised for cultivation reached
28. Since GM crops were first adopted, a major trend has
been a shift from use of varieties with single traits to those
with combined traits.
The GM technologies approved so far for commercial
cultivation and for contained field trials are of foreign
origin. The similarity between the agro-ecological
conditions in which GM crops were developed and those
where they were to be grown commercially facilitated
their rapid uptake in Argentina (Trigo, 2011).
1.2 Regulation
The responsibility of granting approvals for GM events
lies within the Argentinean Ministry of Agriculture
(MinAgri). The process requires contributions from three
institutions 37 . Decisions are based on (1) environmental
risk evaluation, (2) food and safety assessment and (3)
analysis of the potential impacts on international trade for
Argentina.
The ‘mirror policy’ in the approval of GM crops in Argentina
takes into account the state of play of export markets with
regard to GM regulations, and in particular, the EU and
more recently, India and China. This means that only those
events already approved in key export markets are granted
approval (Vicien, 2012). The inclusion of a mandatory
socio-economic impact assessment, comprising an ex
ante assessment of the economic impact on trade and
competitiveness, is a feature of the Argentinean approval
system. This is aimed at guiding political and strategic
choices with respect to international trade (Vicien, 2012).
1.3 Research
Public agricultural research in Argentina is largely
financed by the national government, and carried by the
Argentinean National Agricultural Technology Institute,
INTA (Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria).
Agricultural R&D in Argentina has become increasingly
demand driven with funding delivered through
competitive schemes. Research activity has played a key
role in stepping up the country’s agricultural production
and exports over the past decade.
Public agricultural research using advanced genetic
techniques is largely under INTA’s Strategic Area ‘Genetic
Resources, Genetic Improvement and Biotechnology’ 38 ,
which includes the research initiative ‘Capacity Building
for the Production of Transgenic Organisms’. Projects in
this initiative include the following.
• Development and adaptation of tools for plant genetic
transformation of agricultural species of interest.
Transformation protocols are being developed for local
cultivars of woody perennial species including willow,
vine, cotton, sunflower, wheat, maize, onion and garlic.
• Generation of vaccines and antibodies in transgenic
plants: from concept to product. Aims include
production at a pre-industrial scale of a vaccine in alfalfa
against Newcastle disease virus; generation of three
complex antibodies (against the VP6 capsid protein of
rotavirus type A; an antibody against the VP8 protein
of the simian rotavirus, and the secretory versions of
these in tobacco and tomato plants); and production
of recombinant antibodies in potato against infectious
bursal disease and Newcastle disease.
• Molecular breeding for forage species for restrictive
environments. Agriculture has displaced livestock
production from the Pampas to new areas of different
36
http://www.minagri.gob.ar/site/institucional/prensa/index.php?edit_accion=noticia&id_info=120822171448.
37
The institutions involved are the Advisory Commission on Agricultural Biotechnology (Comisión Nacional Asesora de
Biotecnología Agropecuaria – CONABIA), which evaluates agricultural and environmental impacts through trials; the National
Agrifood Health and Quality Service (Comité Técnico Asesor sobre uso de Organismos Genéticamente Modificados del Servicio
Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria -SENASA), responsible for food safety evaluation; and the National Directorate for
Agrifood Markets (Dirección Nacional de Mercados Agroalimentarios) which evaluates potential commercial impact focusing on
export markets (Burachik and Traynor, 2002; Lusser et al., 2012).
38
On the Strategic Area of Genetic resources, Breeding and Biotechnology, INTA seeks to create knowledge and tools for the
characterisation and generation of genetic variability to assist plant breeding programmes and the development of biotechnology
products. Information on current projects is available in the INTA website: http://inta.gob.ar/proyectos/aerg.
EASAC Planting the future | June 2013 | 45