GMOs arouse highly polarized opinions that in many contexts have stalled their development. The cultivation of transgenic food in Ecuador is prohibited; paradoxically the importation of transgenic raw material is not. Neither is the investigation.
In 2008, when the country declared itself free of transgenic crops and seeds, Efren Santos, Ph.D. in molecular biology, returned to Ecuador to launch genetic research in bananas. He obtained government permits and has been dedicated to transforming the banana genome so it’s more resistant to pests for 12 years. However, his work cannot leave the laboratory of the Escuela Politecnica del Litoral (ESPOL) due to legal prohibitions.
The modified banana developed at ESPOL is resistant to black leaf streak disease, one of the main tropical diseases affecting this crop. Currently, the team of the Ecuadorian Biotechnology Research Center (CIBE) of this university already has 20 genetically modified plants.
Bananas are a product of great importance for Ecuador. The country is the largest banana exporter in the world (33% of the international market) and competes with Costa Rica and Colombia in the region. According to the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE), this fruit accounts for 3.84% of the total GDP and 50% of the agricultural GDP. It is also the country’s main non-oil export source of income, according to the Central Bank of Ecuador.
Ecuador’s National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIAP) has the objective of promoting technology transfer to farmers. Its main researcher, Eduardo Morillo, said the laws haven’t favored research due to a lack of political will.
Despite this, INIAP works in the traditional scheme of genetic improvement with fruit trees, Andean crops, cereals, and pastures, among others. Their most outstanding research has been performed on potatoes, beans, naranjilla, and tree tomatoes.
According to Morillo, farmers aren’t interested in how researchers obtain improved plants. All they care about is that the plant is more resistant. “The country has the raw material: biodiversity. Biotechnology allows us to take advantage of it and its value is immense,” he stated.
Meanwhile, despite not having legalized the use of GMOs, monocultures devastate the country’s land and its ecological balance. In Quevedo, Los Rios, one of the capitals of banana and oil palm cultivation in Ecuador, native forests no longer exist due to agricultural growth. Palm and bananas cover almost all of this territory because its geographical position on the Manta-Manaus axis is strategic to promote the extractivist model.
Blaming transgenics for the biodiversity problems they could generate is wrong, Santos stated. “The problem starts with monocultures. The resistance to insecticides is proportional to its own use.”
Source: lahora.com.ec