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Ten years of genetically modified crops in Argentine agriculture

Publication date: December 2006

Source: Argentine Council for Information and Development of Biotechnology

20 February 2007 | EN

This report evaluates the impacts of genetically modified (GM) crops in Argentina between 1996 and 2005, alongside wider trends in the country's agriculture and national economy.

The authors calculate the financial benefits of three GM crops — soybeans, maize and cotton — to be over US$20 billion, although they also estimate that about US$2.3 billion is needed to restore soil fertility after soybean cultivation.

They say that introducing GM crops to Argentina resulted in approximately one million new jobs over ten years, and led to lower global soybean prices.

The authors conclude that the benefits of introducing GM crops such as soybeans outweigh the costs.

But they call for public debate and policy intervention to address the environmental problems caused by long-term soybean monocultures, and the risks of depending too heavily on soybean exports.

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