Critics fear an influx of genetically modified crops in Bolivia will spell the end of native cultivars such as these corn varieties. (Photo courtesy of Center for Small-Scale Farming Research and Promotion, Cipca)
Bolivia’s government has agreed to allow broader commercial cultivation of genetically modified crop varieties, arguing that food production must be increased amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Though neighboring agricultural-export powerhouses Brazil and Argentina have produced a wide variety of transgenic crops for years, Bolivia until now has only formally allowed commercial cultivation of one—Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybeans, which are genetically modified to tolerate the company’s glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide. A May 7 decree issued by Interim President Jeanine Áñez calls for swift government approval of more transgenic soy varieties as well as gene-altered corn, sugarcane, cotton and wheat—the last of which is not yet approved for commercial cultivation anywhere in the world. The decree by Áñez, a conservative former senator who was declared interim president when predecessor Evo Morales resigned amid accusations of electoral fraud last year, came amid heavy lobbying by agribusiness. It has drawn... [Log in to read more]
