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 Green line - mar/abr 2006
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TOOLS FOR TRADE
Seed quality, for sure, is one of the best tools that help seed trade. Under such view, ISTA has just had its executive committee meeting with the agenda to improve the methods for quality evaluation, mainly with specified events and processes that can lead to issue of the entity's orange certificate, as sampling and laboratories accreditation.
LACK OF AGREEMENT
The difference between Monsanto and Argentine in relation to soybean production, is going far with already four ships arrested in Europe, tree in Spain and one in United kingdom. Monsanto states that it has no other way to get the difference settled. The discussions are tree years old and its origin is the technological fee for the use of the soybean RR . The outcome of the arrested ships is not clear according to the European law, where the material may even be destroyed with great loss to whom imports or exports. Agreements are essentials and should be done before every thing else. When this does not occur, a solution is difficult.
INVESTMENTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Piracy is a signal that the country is poorly investing in science and technology, both in terms of technological advances and systems for combating behavioral deviations. In this context, some news deserve special attention, such as the increasing budget and bulky resources from China and United States for Science and Technology development. In a smaller scale but greatly meaningful is the New Zealand's strategy of having no fee for registration of foreign students at doctorate level, in the country. After all, knowledge is the differential to competitiveness.
ADVENTITIOUS SEEDS
The detection of contamination in lots of conventional seeds by materials with specified events is becoming a global problem due to its cost. The simple detection of the presence of GM material is not enough - it is necessary to ascertain its quantity as well. For that, the most indicated methods are expensive. Australia dedicates to identifying contamination in canola, just like Brazil does in soybeans, cotton, and maize.
PLANT PROTECTION
To some genetic events, the effects are agricultural ones and industry neglects their importance, paying an equal value for the grain, as for soybeans RR and Maize and Cotton Bt. However, there are other events in which industry distinguishes prices among the materials, as soybeans with nutritionally enriched oil. For the later, a country that has not either entered the UPOV Convention of 1991 or is not able to have a patent will lose the possibility of economically exploring such great alternative.
SEED PROGRAM
Libya is working for the process of consolidating its seed program in which is getting the participation from FAO. The project is big, involving seed production, processing facilities and training at different levels. Prof. Leopoldo Baudet just came from a consultancy in this respect, feeling optimistic with the project success.
IMPROVING THE SYSTEM
Seed sector in Brazil improves according to new needs. Evidently, all steps are taken under great discussion among the parts composing the system. First, the technological tax to use soybeans RR was the reason of eager discussions. In the sequence, the OriLeg cotton program has surged, in which the product's quality is valued; and now it is the case of rice ClearField system, with payment (2%) from the producers who can not show the origin of their seeds or the herbicide used. Everybody recognize the benefit from scientific and technological advances, however the pecuniary answer does not follow the same trend, being sophisticated control programs, many times, necessary.
OECD
After many years coordinating the seed certification schemes, Dr. Jean-Marie Debois is retiring from OECD. The permanence of reputed professionals ahead of important chains in the seed business it certainly a strategy to be chased by the decision takers. Jean-Marie is one of those professionals reliable and successfully used by the seed business. SEED News wishes him success in his new activity.
NUTRITIONAL QUALITY
There are already in the market several agricultural products with higher nutritional quality. In Brazil, Coodetec launched soybean variety CD 223 AP, with 44% protein in the grain, and in the United States Monsanto has just launched the soybean variety Vestive with higher oil nutritional quality (less linolenic fatty acid). The market products exploration with those features involves the participation of the industry, who pays bonus for quality. Seed production, in this process, is well controlled allowing the plant breeder to receive the due earnings from his work.
COMPANY NEWS
Syngenta seeds has just published its annual report of 2005 on seed sales. It rose in an average of 42% over all regions. In corn and soybean the sales were more than double in relation to 2004. Diverse field crops are benefiting from the increase demand for biofuels. In vegetables the demand for fresh produce, the sales showed strong growth in the Americas and Asia. The company expects to enter the market with stacked traits for 2008 in most countries. New materials are essential for a continuous growth.
EXPRESSING EVENTS
Seeds piracy is universal, varying from place to place. Under such focus, there is a racing towards developing intelligent mechanisms to minimize such abnormality in the system, with harm for every part involved, including the outlaw, due to the possibility of being heavily fined. The most recent tool is the trigger mechanism for expressing specific characteristics in which the only difference when compared to a conventional variety is an agronomical character, such as, for example, the resistance to a given disease. So, the farmer will be always able to keep his own seed but he will not take any advantage from something innovative that, certainly, required much effort.
COATING
Farmers who cultivate large crops, such as soybeans, maize, cotton, and rice, are becoming aware of the benefits from a coated seed, which has increased performance. It is estimated that such practice has more than doubled in Brazil in the past five years. First, it was the application of fungicide on soybeans; now there are the micronutrients, insecticides, growth hormones and film coating, mainly. The things which are confirmedly good are adopted by the farmer.
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