Posted March 10, 2014
Syngenta AG will require producers who plant a new type
of genetically modified (GMO) corn seed this spring to follow specific
guidelines and pledge to not ship it to China or the European Union, according
to a Reuters article available here.
This announcement is the “latest step by the world’s
largest crop chemicals company to calm concerns among global grain exporters
about corn seed containing the Agrisure Duracade trait, which is available for
planting for the first time this year.”
Traders, Archer Daniels Midland Co., Bunge Ltd., and
Cargill Inc. have said that they will limit their handling of the crop
containing Duracade because the trait has not been approved by China or the
EU.
The Duracade trait corn seeds are engineered to resist
rootworms.
Growers who plant the Duracade crops will be required
to sign a “Syngenta Stewardship Agreement” that requires them to feed the
harvest to livestock or poultry on the farm or to deliver it to a grain
facility that does not export it to China or the EU.” Syngenta will also advise farmers who plant
Duracade corn to “harvest it separately, store it in separate bins, and
surround fields of Duracade corn with ‘buffer’ rows of another variety.”
The trait, also known as MIR 162, has been awaiting
approval from China and China has no time frame to complete safety testing,
according to a Bloomberg article available here.
Peng Yufa, chief scientist of the Beijing-based
committee, which provides risk analysis to the Ministry of Agriculture on
gene-modified crops, said it has not received instructions for the next meeting. Even if the product passes a risk analysis,
“the government may consider other factors, such as trade and bilateral
relations, before approving.”
“In principle, the meeting may be at the end of March,
though we haven’t received any notice,” Peng said. However, if the meeting is held and the MIR
162 is one of the items to be reviewed, “it’s up to the committee’s 64 members
to pass a risk review.”
For more information on biotechnology, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
