The book Institutionalization of Transgenic Agribusiness in Paraguay, addresses the issue of transgenics. To this end, the publication includes different aspects related to the institutional policies promoted by the Paraguayan State and its entities in relation to the promotion of the agribusiness model. One of the points detailed is related to an accelerated process of liberalization of regulations regarding the release of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) which in the last 3 years has led to the approval of more GMOs than in two decades.
As detailed in the material, since 2019 there have been advances in the deregulation of the regulatory framework for the approval of transgenic crops. This occurs after the enactment of Resolutions MAG nº 1,030 and nº 1,071,242.
“With its application, the commercial release of genetically modified crops in the country is fundamentally supported by the history of its release in third countries. In other words, the MAG, as the controlling body of CONBIO, has institutional competence to approve the commercial release of GMOs as long as they are commercially approved in other countries, carrying out only bureaucratic procedures.”, indicates the book, released weeks ago.
loss of sovereignty
And this is how the authors of the book express it: “With this, it can be said that the policies of the government of Mario Abdo – as a continuation of the government of Horacio Cartes – in relation to the release of transgenic events, are based on criteria of third countries, elaborated in turn, according to the interests of transnational corporations that produce transgenics and pesticides around the world”.
This unregulated institutional framework in relation to the release of transgenic events is particularly dangerous at this moment due to the recent approval of the commercial release of transgenic wheat resistant to ammonium glufosinate (15 times more toxic than glyphosate) in Argentina, and the authorization of the importation of flour produced with her, in Brazil. With this international panorama and the regulatory deregulation at the national level, CONBIO under the control of the MAG, could commercially release HB4 wheat from mere bureaucratic procedures.
Liberation from GMOs and transnational corporations
Thus, with this process in Paraguay, the number of approved GMO authorizations accelerated. Between August 2021 and February 2022, 7 (seven) new Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) were approved for 6 corn crops and 1 soy crop.Adding the number of GMOs released in this process, with the massive release given in 2019, the result represents more than 40% of the total number of GMOs released since 2004. That is, in just three years, more GMOs were released than in almost two decades” mentions the book.
There are currently a total of 48 commercially released GMOs in the country, of which 30 correspond to corn (62.5%), 10 to soy (20.8%) and 8 to cotton (16.7%). 85.4% of the transgenic events released in the country belong to the four transnational agribusiness corporations that currently own all the commercial transgenic seeds in the world; Thus, in the country, 35.4% of transgenic events are owned by Monsanto, 22.9% by Syngenta, 14.5% by Dow Agrosciences and 12.5% by BASF.
It is noteworthy that the release of these GMOs goes hand in hand with a technological package highly polluting.
