TWN Info Service on Biosafety
6 May 2022
Third World Network
www.twn.my
Dear Friends and Colleagues
Transgene Flow into Maize Landraces in Brazil
Brazil is one of the largest global producers of genetically modified crops. Transgenic monocultures occupy around 50 million hectares, whereas smallholder farmers, indigenous people, and traditional communities are responsible for in-situ/on-farm conservation of local genetic resources.
A recent study used a broad and unique participatory transgene-flow-monitoring process led by civil society organizations, in which 1098 samples of maize landraces were collected in the Brazilian Semi-arid Region between 2018 and 2021 and analyzed using strip tests. The tests revealed 34% of samples with presence of GM proteins, with up to seven different GM events in the same sample.
Commercial approval of GM varieties in Brazil occurs at a faster pace than the country’s ability to adopt effective measures to protect landraces and farmers’ seed-management systems. Based on the results of the study, the authors suggest there is a direct relationship between the flexibility of commercial releases of GM maize and the insufficiency of national rules for controlling gene flow mediated by GM pollen or propagules, with the increasing transgene flow into landraces in the studied region.
Studies are needed to assess the medium- and long-term effects of the presence of GMOs on the genetic diversity of varieties cultivated by farmers, as well as on the sociocultural and economic systems responsible for the dynamic conservation of landrace seeds. Effective measures are urgently needed to confine GM seeds in the areas and agricultural systems for which they were designed, thus preventing the social sectors responsible for on-farm conservation from assuming the burden of monitoring actions and the threat of losing their rights and their seeds.
We reproduce below the Abstract and Conclusions of the paper.
With best wishes,
Third World Network
__________________________________________________________________________
TRANSGENE FLOW: CHALLENGES TO THE ON-FARM CONSERVATION OF MAIZE LANDRACES IN THE BRAZILIAN SEMI-ARID REGION
Fernandes GB, Silva ACdL, Maronhas MES, Santos AdSd, Lima PHC.
Plants 2022, 11(5), 603
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11050603
https://www.mdpi.com/1514066
Abstract
Brazil is one of the largest global producers of genetically modified crops and a center of origin and diversification of relevant species for agriculture and food. Transgenic monocultures occupy around 50 million hectares, whereas smallholder farmers, indigenous people, and traditional communities are responsible for in-situ/on-Farm conservation of local genetic resources. Based on 15 years of expertise in regulating GMOs and in cross-institutional agrobiodiversity conservation projects, this article discusses the challenges regarding the coexistence of these two agricultural models based on transgene flow detection in maize landraces. As part of a broad and unique participatory transgene-flow-monitoring process, 1098 samples of maize landraces were collected in the Brazilian Semi-arid Region between 2018 and 2021 and analyzed using immunochromatographic strips. The tests revealed 34% of samples with presence of GM proteins. It is concluded that the biosafety standards in force in Brazil do not allow the assurance of on-Farm conservation of maize. The sectors that contribute to agrobiodiversity conservation and do not benefit from using GM seeds are taking on the burden of this process. Transgene flow can be reduced by approving and enforcing more effective coexistence rules that consider maize landraces crop areas also as seed-producing areas added to full disclosure of commercial seeds origin.
Conclusions
Previous studies have confirmed the presence of transgenes in landraces without, however, discussing which strategies farmers have been adopting to monitor the risk of transgene flow considering the role they play in the on-Farm conservation of maize genetic diversity. Here, we present the unprecedented and scaled-up effort led by civil society organizations to monitor transgene flow into maize landraces. The results indicate ubiquitous presence of GM events in maize landraces conserved by family farmers in the SAB. In total, 1098 samples were evaluated in a participatory way by means of strip tests over 4 years, revealing positive results for the presence of GMOs in 34% of the samples, with up to seven different GM events in the same sample. Among the evaluated seed-management systems, higher levels of GM presence were found in the External Seed Exchanges category. In Cycle I of evaluation, the Seed Exchange between Farmers category presented a higher rate of positive samples than the No External Seed Exchange category. In Cycle II, the positive rate in the No External Seed Exchange category surpassed that of the Seed Exchange between Farmers category. Testing kits specifications changed from one project to the other, aiming to follow the entry of new GM maize varieties into the country seed market as well as to ensure the confidence in the tool’s tracking capacity. The occurrence of transgene flow into maize landraces may be even greater given that our sample base is limited to the working area of organizations linked to the ASA and to the projects in force in both periods. Nevertheless, this limitation reinforces the relevance of the results found and the challenges identified for on-Farm conservation of maize diversity.
The adoption of strip tests proved to be efficient for the participatory transgene-flow monitoring. In addition to the reliability of the results, the methodology has shown characteristics, such as easy application and quick access to the results, that are educational when adopted in the context of interinstitutional projects aimed at agrobiodiversity conservation. The high costs of testing are a bottleneck for the maintenance and expansion of this process. It is not yet clear how seed crops derived from New Breeding Technologies, such as gene editing, will be traced at the field level and whether testing tools will be available for participatory monitoring of these new seeds. There is a need for projects and policies supporting the civil society, research, and farmers’ organizations, enabling long-term transgene flow monitoring.
Commercial approval of GM varieties in Brazil occurs at a faster pace than the country’s ability to adopt effective measures to protect landraces and farmers’ seed-management systems. This discrepancy is aggravated by the accelerated trend of the regulatory body to promote measures to make the biosafety rules more flexible, such as the automatic approval of stacked events and the possibility of exempting the GMO developer from post-commercial release monitoring. Based on the results found, we suggest there is a direct relationship between the flexibility of commercial releases of GM maize and the insufficiency of national rules for controlling gene flow mediated by GM pollen or propagules with the increasing transgene flow into landraces in the studied region. Additional studies can assess this situation in other regions of the country. Studies are needed to assess the medium- and long-term effects of the presence of GMOs into the genetic diversity of varieties cultivated by farmers as well as on the sociocultural and economic systems responsible for the dynamic conservation of landrace seeds. CTNBio’s Normative Resolutions on isolation of GM maize, post-commercial-release monitoring, and approval of pyramid events should be revised. Transgene flow can be reduced by approving and enforcing more effective coexistence rules that consider maize landraces crop areas also as seed-producing areas added to full disclosure of commercial seeds origin. Effective measures are needed to confine GM seeds in the areas and agricultural systems for which they were designed, thus preventing the social sectors responsible for on-Farm conservation from assuming the burden of monitoring actions and the threat of losing their rights and their seeds.