Source: Gazeta Mercantil via Checkbiotech

Monsanto do Brasil, owner of the technology for Roundup transgenic soybeans, will increase its investment budget 30% during the current crop. The company plans to invest US$12.3 million in the period 2005/06.

The investment decision was taken before the regulation of the Bio Security Law, which was published yesterday in the official government gazette, the "Dirio Oficial da Uniäo."

The moment could not be more propitious. "We are going to accelerate the requests for approval of new varieties of transgenics," said Ricardo Miranda, company technology development director, who already has begun conducting experiments with new varieties of genetically altered. corn, soybeans and cotton.

"1 hope that the decree speeds the release of new transgenic varieties so that we can begin the field tests as quickly as possible," said Miranda. The research investment refers not only to transgenic varieties but also to conventional ones.

He recalled that requests for tests, made three years ago, were only recently authorized by the National Technical Committee on Biossecurity (CTNBi0). That organ already has authorized the commercial use of the company's RR soybeans (resistant to herbicides) and of Bollgard cotton (tolerant to insects). Still awaiting authorization are RR corn, RR cotton and Yieldgard corn (insect tolerant).

Next year, the company will begin tests with soybeans resistant to insects and "flex" cotton, tolerant to herbicides, which has a wider window of application of glifosat agrochemicals. The two varieties will not be on the market before the 2006/07 crop, said Miranda.

Copyright Gazeta Mercantil