Biotech Increases Pesticide Use In Brazil
20 November 2006 The Brazilian environmental institute IBAMA reports an increase in herbicides since biotech seed arrived in the country, in pesticide volume terms. From 2000 to 2004, the domestic consumption of glyphosate has risen by 95%, outpacing the 71% rise in soybean planted area.
The state of Rio Grande do Sul, site of the majority of Brazil’s transgenic soybeans, shows an increase of 162% on glyphosate consumption and 38% in the soybeans planted area. In Rio Grande, soybean farmers have increased by herbicide consumption by 106%, from from 9,800 metric tons to 20,200 metric tons between 2000 and 2004, of which 19,300 metric tons were glyphosate used in 4.1 million hectares of soybeans area.
The full consequences of the massive use of herbicides are still to be seen, but researchers from Brazil’s Embrapa are already noticing the growing resistance of weeds to glyphosate.
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