Argentina's GM woes.

• Author: Joensen, Lilian
• Position: Thinking Ecologically

Within the past decade in Argentina, 160,000 families of small farmers have left the land, unable to compete with large farmers. GM soya has served to exacerbate this trend towards large-scale, industrial agriculture, accelerating poverty. Roundup Ready (RR) soya clearly requires more, not less, herbicide than conventional soya. In 2001, more than 9.1 million kg of extra herbicide was used with GM soya compared with non-GM. The use of glyphosate (Roundup) doubled from 28 million liters in the period 1997-98 to 56 million liters in 1998-1999, and reached 100 million in the last (2002) season. RR soya crops also yield 5% to 10% less compared with the non-GM varieties grown under similar soil conditions. Scientists at the University of Arkansas showed that root development, nodule formation and nitrogen fixation worsened in some varieties of RR soya. These effects are exacerbated under strong drought conditions or in relatively infertile fields because the symbiotic bacterium responsible for fixing nitrogen in soya is very sensitive to drought and to Roundup.

Argentina started to transform its economy to an export-led focus on soya when it had to pay back foreign debt with money gained through export commodities. During the last quarter century, soybean production increased at an unprecedented rate, from an area of 38,000 hectares in 1970 to approximately 13 million hectares today. Around 70% of the soybean harvest is converted into oil, most of which is exported, providing 81% of the world's exported soya oil and 36% of soybean meal.

Practically all of the 13 million hectares of soya crop are GM, in particular RR soya. Argentina is currently the second biggest producer of GM soya in the world. The countryside has been transformed from traditional mixed and rotation farming, which secured soil fertility and minimized the use of pesticides, to almost entirely GM soya.

Financial problems for farmers are set to worsen with Monsanto now starting to charge royalties for their seeds, where before it was allowing farm-saved seeds. Twenty-four million acres of land belonging to bankrupted small farmers are about to be auctioned by the banks.

With an increase in poverty, a glut in soya, and a deficit of other agricultural products, the government began to promote soya as a healthy alternative to traditional foodstuffs such as meat and milk. A campaign, Soja Solidaridad (Soya Solidarity), was launched. Soup kitchens served soya-based meals and cookbooks...