Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

The possibility of using genetically modified seeds in Peru continues to be a controversial issue between the Andean country's Environment Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Ismael Benavides, head of the Ministry of Agriculture affirmed on Thursday that allowing transgenic seeds into Peru was an intelligent decision that would benefit the country's nutritional needs in the future.

On the other hand, Environment Minister Antonio Brack announced on Wednesday that the Peruvian government would evaluate in January if Peru was going to be a country that does not produce transgenic crops.

Brack stressed the importance of this ban stating it was vital in fostering the production of organic products.

With these statements, the two ministers once again took up the debate of transgenic crops in Peru, reported El Comercio newspaper.

According to Andina news agency, Minister Benavides has stated that organic crops are produced in small quantities and are targeted towards a niche market.

He affirmed that in 30 years there would be 50 million Peruvians that would need a larger quantity of products. The key is transgenic crops because they improve productivity and reduce the risk of a food crisis, said Benavides.

He supported this by explaining that China had recently begun using eight genetically modified seeds.

"The minister can't mechanically transfer transgenic crop models used in the U.S., Canada and Australia to Peru," said economist and agriculture specialist Eduardo Zegarra, affirming that organic crops did not produce more but were more profitable for farmers.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture, crop production in Peru has increased 11.1 percent in the past year.