US-based Monsanto Company announced it has completed regulatory submission in Brazil for its insect-protected Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans. The stacked trait product provides both protection from feeding damage caused by lepidopteran insect pests in Brazil and tolerance to Roundup agricultural herbicides.

This is the first biotech insect-protected product in soybeans and Monsanto's first biotech product targeted primarily at a market outside the United States.

The company expects to commercialize Bt Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans in Brazil in the early to middle part of the next decade pending global regulatory approvals. Submissions to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have also been completed. Submissions to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and key import markets will occur over the next several months.

"We expect this product to provide a step change for Brazilian soybean farmers by protecting against insects that cause significant economic loss combined with the increased yield provided by the Roundup Ready 2 Yield trait, which was introduced commercially this year in the United States," said Roy Fuchs, oilseed technology lead for Monsanto.

"Better insect control can help reduce pesticide applications and offer farmers yield protection, thus helping agriculture meet the food, fuel and fiber needs of a growing population."

Bt Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans are in Phase 3 of development, which includes trait integration, field testing and regulatory data generation. Insect-protected soybeans use the same Bt technology widely adopted in corn and cotton to control lepidopteran insect pests. The benefit from better insect protection, says Monsanto, will further add value to the increased yield provided by Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans.

Currently, farmers in key soybean growing regions of the U.S. do not consistently face insect-pressure from lepidopteran pests.

This product is a high-impact technology in Monsanto's R&D pipeline with a projected value in 2020 to be US$ 300 million-US$ 500 million. This product represents the first of several technologies the company plans to offer farmers in other world areas - all, they say, aimed at helping to address the needs of farmers in their geography.

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Monsanto-no saint with green fingers
written by DU 48, June 25, 2009

The concern is the rapidly growing domination of the world agricultural base by a handful of biotech companies.While everybody welcomes modern farming methods it would be quite wrong to maintain that alone, GM crops,seeds and foods are the answer to the world's ability to feed itself.
In Brazil the quantity of toxic chemicals found in some vegetables is alarming.GM crops may dispense with or reduce the number of conventional sprays, but there are added risks-cross-contamination of non-GM crops, for example.
Will farmers be able to resist the dependence on these GM products?
Is there still a need for crop rotation instead of monoculture, 'healthy´composting rather than chemical fertilizers?
Is Brazil capable and willing to listen to alternative market strategies ?

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