51.3 million hectares of cultivated GM crops in Brazil 2018

Abu Dhabi 24-09-2019
Theresa Cristina Correa da Costa Dias, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of Brazil, said that her country has expanded the area of ​​GM crops by 1.1 million hectares to 51.3 million hectares in 2018, up from 50.2 million hectares in 2017. Of 2 per cent.
She said that her country has provided research and development in the field of GM crops with 2,400 scientists, saying in an interview with WAM that the research conducted by a group of scientists at the IMPRABA Institute of Agricultural Research in Brazil of the Ministry of Agriculture will help to expand the cultivation of GM crops in Country.
Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of soybeans and the second-largest corn exporter in the world after the United States, accounting for 27 per cent of the world’s GM crops in 2018, she said. It also produces a large amount of genetically modified sugar cane.
On the ongoing research in her country, she said, “GM foods are safe and there is no scientific evidence of the alleged risks associated with them.”
The Brazilian minister, an agronomist, is speaking in the heat of the international debate on the safety of GM crops.Many activists and green organizations, including Greenpeace, believe there is no conclusive evidence that GM foods do not harm people.
The Brazilian minister said that her country would be ready to cooperate with the Gulf countries in research and development related to genetically modified foods and other fields of agriculture. The minister visited the UAE before Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as part of her tour in the Middle East.
“I look forward to active cooperation in the agriculture sector with the Gulf countries, which are an important partner of Brazil. We also have a special relationship with the UAE.”
She was impressed by the success of the UAE’s experience in transforming desert land into green oases.
Speaking about organic farming in Brazil, Da Costa Dias said that hot weather was not suitable for this method, so organic products were 15 to 20 per cent more expensive. “Only the wealthy classes can consume them.”
Regarding the ongoing fires in the forested areas of Brazil in the Amazon region, she explained that the Brazilian Ministry of Environment has already registered several cases against individuals who unlawfully set fire to the fire. on her.
The minister said news reports exaggerated the extent of the fire on the outskirts of the Amazon, not inside the wet forests.