Farmers that produce with organic or conventional techniques free of Trans- genetics in Argentina confront, starting from the current crop, a serious problem: a high percentage of its grains cannot certify the norms demanded by the European Union.

In consequence, those lots will be sold at substantially inferior prices in those markets that don't put barriers to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). In that way, efforts and investments dedicated to differentiate their production to obtain bigger benefits will be wasted.

We have to look at the seeds for the cause. The graduated Patricia García asserts, directress of Letis INC, a certificadora of organic products recognized by the Senasa.

García explains that "the Europeans admit an accidental contamination of OGM of one percent for the traditional production, and of 0,1 percent for the organic one, but in the Argentina the farmers that want to enter in these markets don't get seeds" that assure this standards.

It is that the big seed providers, at the present time, guarantees their supply by 95 percent, and in many cases only by 90 percent. In other words, the probability that the seed is polluted it ascends at the 10 or 15 percent.

And when the certificadoras carries out in port the analyses PCR (*1), a high percentage of the samples gives superior values of contamination to one percent.

The directress of Letis points to the seeds and she argues him: "These producers work with organic systems for many years, they have the care of cleaning the machinery and they assume-low sworn declaration-the responsibility of the cleaning in everything that makes to the transport and handling of the soya. If all these cares the contamination gives high, we have to deduce that there was a problem in the seed."

The specialist remembers that the last year 90 percent of the surface Argentinean soy producers was sowed with soya RR (*2), and this fact makes that the seed providers cannot provide the matter it prevails to assure a crop of organic cereal.

Losses

The figures of the current crop are not still known. Nevertheless, if a similar production is calculated at the 2000 for the soya, and one keeps in mind, also, the contamination for pollination of the corn, the losses for the organic farmers will be very serious.

García advances another difficulty: "Next year, the farmer that wants to make organic production will have to make the analyses PCR-that are very expensive-to the seeds, besides being made it to the result of the crop."

The circumstance is increased if one keeps in mind that every time there is but countries that reject the import and still the sowing of products Trans- genetics. And it only is not the developed nations. These decisions also apply it several Asian and African countries.

García gives an example: Indonesia has stopped an Argentinean shipment of corn, of the last crop, to contain Bt (*3).

Absence of regulations

The directress of Letis points out that "in Argentina, the biotechnology companies have given great diffusion to the benefits of the sowing of products Trans- genetics, but nobody has told to the farmer that won't be able to sell her product I save to those countries where the problem of the hunger is bigger to the preservation of the inherent risks to this type of technologies."

The complete graduate that the Government loads with a high quota of responsibility, because "with his silence it contributed to this lack of information."

The Argentinean legislation doesn't force the farmer that sowing Trans- genetics to prevent the contamination. It is more, they are the own biotechnology companies those that recommend to protect the sowing OGM.

García points that, on the contrary, in United States-where a strong pressure exists for the use of OGM-the implementation of an area buffer is demanded (of security) that protects the surfaces worked with technical organic. In the case of the corn-it specifies-this receipt fringe should be of 300 meters.

But in Argentina it is the other way around: the producer that organic sowing is who has to leave the protection area, with the costs that it implies it.

References

(1) reaction in Chain of the Polimerasa, for their initials in English. It is the most reliable method and I specify to recognize the presence of organisms OGM.

(2) I seed resistant to the herbicides glifosatos, commercially well-known as Round Up®, Liberty®, or Basta®. The soya RR was enabled in the Argentina in 1966.

(3) the corns Bt possesses a transgén that is a modification of a gene natural present in the bacteria of the floor Bacillus thuringiensis that is used for the biological control of plagues