Paraguay: campaign opens debate on the cultivation and sale of transgenic HB4 wheat

A campaign that has brought together gastronomic companies, experts and NGO has opened a debate on Paraguayan around the use of genetically modified wheat HB4 -resistant to drought-, whose “trade liberalization” It was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and is supported by producer unions.

“Bread without poison”as the campaign was baptized, intends to collect signatures in gastronomic establishments against the release of the cultivation and commercialization of this wheat in the country.

“If it is not possible to stop the cultivation of this wheatthis poison will be present in most of the daily foods present in supermarkets, school meals, canteens, snacks and restaurants, that is why we ask for the help of citizens “argue the promoters of the initiative.

The mobilization responds to the approval of resolution No. 556 of May 10, 2023 of the MAG, which authorizes the commercial release of HB4 wheat “for differential treatment”, which means that the country should not carry out consultations or field studies in this regard. The measure responded to a request from the National Institute of Agrobiotechnology of Rosario (Indear), of Argentina.

Consulted by EFE, the researcher Liz García, in charge of the Human Rights, Land and Agribusiness Observatory of the non-profit civil association Base-IS, questioned whether the decision was adopted “stealthy”without a public discussion and without carrying out independent studies on the matter.

García indicated that Base-IS alerted the gastronomic community that the use of transgenic wheat will mean “the presence of a dangerous pesticide on the tables and in the fields” of the country.

The HB4 wheat incorporates the HB4 gene, discovered by a research team from the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) and the National University of the Coast (UNL) led by the Argentine scientist Raquel Chan, which allows for better tolerance to drought.

According to the Bioceres Group website, to whose Bioceres Crop Solutions division the gene patent was licensed, HB4 wheat uses a glufosinate resistance gene as a marker to distinguish it from plants in which the gene has not been incorporated.

The Human Rights Coordinator of Paraguay (Codehupy), which supports the campaign, explained that, “In simple terms, the release of GM wheat means that the wheat grown will contain residues of glufosinate ammonium, an herbicide that is considered 15 times more toxic than glyphosate, according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).”

“This substance – Codehupy added in a statement – is widely questioned and was banned in many countries due to its acute toxicity and its neurotoxic, genotoxic and cholinesterase-altering effects.”

In this regard, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Paraguay, Moisés Bertoni, told EFE that the affirmation that the cultivated wheat will contain residues of glufosinate ammonium “it has no footing”.

“Glufosinate ammonium is a herbicide approved in Paraguay, in most countries, for more than 40 years and its use is extended to all crops, not just wheat”he expressed.

Bertoni considered that Paraguay needs to incorporate technology to “continue to be successful” in this industry, and one of them is biotechnology.

“There are people who do not have the slightest idea of ​​how agriculture develops or are influenced by ideologies to assert this type of situation”he expressed.

Statistics from the Paraguayan Chamber of Exporters and Marketers of Grains and Oilseeds (Capeco) indicate that last year between 370,000 and 400,000 hectares were allocated to planting wheat in the country, from which an estimated commercial production of 850,000 tons was obtained, a slightly lower figure compared to the 980,235 tons of 2021.

Asked about the campaign, the president of the Union of Production Guilds (UGP), Héctor Cristaldo, assured EFE that there is a “total ignorance of the agronomic process”.

According to Cristaldo, the resolution that authorizes the commercial release of HB4 means that in the country “begin to develop the research programs to generate the varieties” of this wheat.

In this sense, he clarified that, so far, there is no “the first cross” of genetically modified wheat in the country, since this process takes between eight and ten years.

Source: EFE