Brazilian GM soybean cultivation decreased productivity, increased pesticide usage over past 10 years

(http://www.gmwatch.org) Gerson Teixeira, the president of the Brazilian Association of Agrarian Reform, recently released a new report analyzing the past 10 years of GMO cultivation in Brazil.

The report highlights several notable problems with the technology: high dependence, increased monoculture, increased use of pesticides and decreased productivity.

As Texeira notes, GM agriculture in Brazil began when Monsanto's seeds were smuggled into the country, despite their use being prohibited. After that, GM seeds were legally released in Brazil with promises of "reducing costs, increasing productivity, reducing pesticide use, and many other advantages," but all they actually did was generate "huge profits for the big global agrochemical corporations."

In reality, GMOs have achieved just the opposite of what they promised. Texeira's report gives special attention to GM technology's claims of reduced pesticide usage and increased productivity. Pesticide usage in Brazil has increased by about 190% in the past 10 years; the rest of the world saw an increase of around 90%. Meanwhile, soybean yield has only grown by 4%, compared to a 31% increase between 1992 and 2003 before GM crops were legalized.

Be sure to check out EcoDebate.com.br for the original article, a translation of which can be found at GMWatch.org. Teixeira's report in Portuguese is available in PDF format here.