Biotech Corn, Soy Does Little To Boost Yield

Despite industry claims of higher yields from biotech corn and soybeans, much of the increase can be tied to other improvements in agriculture, according to a study released April 14. The Union of Concerned Scientists said its review found genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant soybeans and corn did not increase yields compared with conventional methods. Still, farmers

Japan To Double Non-GM Soy Reserve

Japan will spend $3 million to double reserves of non-genetically modified soybeans to 7,200 tonnes in the year starting in April, the Ministry of Agriculture said March 17. The ministry’s increased purchase of more costly non-GM soybean for usage in traditional food such as tofu means its spending would rise to 291 million yen ($2.96


Biggest Brazil Soy State Loses Taste For GMO Seed

Farmers in Brazil’s Mato Grosso, the country’s top soy state, are shunning once-heralded, genetically modified soy varieties in favour of conventional seeds after the hi-tech type showed poor yields. “We’re seeing less and less planting of GMO soy around here. It doesn’t give consistent performance,” said Jeferson Bif, who grows soy and corn on a

Keep Your Distance. But How Far?

Only 15 of the European Union’s 27 countries have agreed laws for separating organic, traditional and biotech crops, with several reluctant even to debate such a sensitive issue, the EU’s farm chief says. EU countries have been encouraged to make their own laws to facilitate cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops if farmers want to


In Brief… – for Mar. 5, 2009

Streamlining farm subsidies: European Union ministers are considering changing the way farmers receive subsidies. The Czechs plan to launch a debate on how the EU’s complex farm payment system might be altered for the next seven-year budget period, which starts in 2013, Czech Agriculture Minister Petr Gandalovic said. Average levels of direct farm payments vary

Monsanto, Germany Clash On GM Maize

U. S. biotech firm Monsanto Co. on Feb. 19 criticized Germany’s farm minister for calling into question the cultivation of maize with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Germany. Farm Minister Ilse Aigner said in a media interview she would consider reviewing permission given to grow GMO maize (corn) in Germany as its cultivation had brought


EU executive advances on GM crops

European Union biotech experts will get the chance in February to vote whether to allow two genetically modified (GM) maize types to be grown in Europe, in a bid to break the long-standing EU deadlock on growing GM crops. The full European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, on Jan. 21 backed proposals drafted by its

GM urgency eases

The push to promote genetically modified (GM) wheat to combat global food shortages could slow as global commodity prices ease, a top industry executive said Nov. 16. “Now that prices have fallen off their peak, I don’t think it will be a priority,” said Vijay Iyengar, managing director of the Singapore-based grains trader Agrocorp International