MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Genetically modified corn is trickling into Mexico after overcoming years of legal barriers, but where some farmers see the promise of reduced imports, others see a threat to their heritage.
For years, the status of corn in Mexico has made the country hesitant to adopt transgenic corn seeds.
Mexico is a major food importer and is finding itself outpaced by agriculture exporting giants like the United States and Brazil. Proponents of GM crops say they could help reverse the trend.
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Last year, after a decade of political wrangling, Mexico completed a package of laws to allow for controlled experiments with the genetically engineered seeds, designed to resist certain pests or herbicides, reduce costs and increase yields.
In small, isolated fields in three states, Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred recently completed the tests with positive results.
It is the first time GM corn seeds have been allowed in Mexican soil since 1998.
“We have to recover lost time. Mexico should be using 21st century technology so we can compete and not be an importing country,” said Fabrice Salamanca, who heads the group AgroBio that represents biotech companies participating in the trials.
Farmers could launch pilot projects in larger areas next year in the northern states of Sinaloa and Tamaulipas, Salamanca said.
The pilot fields would not exceed 250 acres, he said.
Commercial production of GM crops could be years away. GM cotton plants are only now being grown commercially after 15 years of experimental plantings, Salamanca said.
The Mexican farmers interested in GM seeds are major producers who see unfair competition from the United States where the bulk of corn is genetically modified.
Mexico is self-sufficient in white corn used to make tortillas, but the country imports around 10 million tonnes of GM yellow corn each year for animal feed.
Big biotech companies see a market for the five million acres in Mexico now planted with hybrids seeds bought each year by farmers eager to adopt the latest trends.
The rest of Mexico’s corn is grown by small producers, many of whom use grain to feed their families and livestock.
Anti-GM groups fear cross-pollination could contaminate the dozens of corn varieties only found in Mexico.
“My grandparents taught my family the process of saving seeds … (The worry is) we will lose our native corn,” said Alejandro Nevarez, a Tarahumara agronomist.
The introduction of GM seeds could increase the gap between Mexico’s rich corn farmers in the north and poor farmers in the south or in indigenous enclaves.
