The company which produces and sells genetically modified seed has presented the Panamanian government with a formal request to market their products in the country.
Following the strategy implemented in other countries, Monsanto seeks to prove the absence of adverse effects of GMOs on human and animal consumption, as outlined in a study by the University of California-Davis .
The company will stop charging for the use of first generation GM soybeans in Brazil during 2012 and 2013.
The multinational has reached an agreement with Brazilian farmers to stop charging royalties for the use of genetically modified seeds, for which it owns the patent.
"The agreement is limited to crops in 2012 and 2013 of the Roundoup Ready first generation soybean, which is resistant to the herbicide Roundoup, the most commonly used in the market, also manufactured by Monsanto." reported PrensaLibre.com
DPL Semillas, a subsidiary of Monsanto, has been authorized to plant three GM maize varieties to produce seeds for export.
The company DPL Semillas, a subsidiary of Monsanto, has received a favorable ruling by the National Biosafety Committee, to plant one or two acres of genetically modified corn.
"The request was made to plant seeds in order to multiply the amount and export them in their entirety.
$2.5 million has been designated for a seed research station, located in Salama, Baja Verapaz.
In order to continue advancing the process of upgrading the seeds in its plant in Guatemala, Monsanto Vegetales has invested $2.5 million in a "molecular markers" unit, which will be used to improve the seed’s resistance to the weather.
Through this technology experts are able to identify the gene that helps improve resistance to moisture and heat.
Lack of complete legislation that allows testing, planting and harvesting of genetically modified products is blocking investment in the sector.
Guatemala is being left behind in comparison to its Central American neighbors in the use of biotechnology to improve cultivation and harvesting and runs the risk that multimillion dollar investments, like that of the Mosanto multinational company, will not be carried out in the short-term.
The multinational agri-business company Monsanto announced Thursday that it has bought a Guatemala firm, Semillas Cristiani Burkard.
The purchase, which will take effect next month, allows Monsanto to develop the market for genetically modified seeds in Guatemala and Latin America.
The amount paid for the company was not disclosed.
Monsanto and Pioneer aim to introduce genetically modified crops to Honduras before moving on to El Salvador and Guatemala.
"Once a regulatory framework has been established, we have to see what the conditions are, in terms of yields and acreage," said Rafael Aramendis, Monsanto's regional director for government relations. "But first it will be Honduras, then El Salvador and in third place Guatemala, as each in turn defines the rules of the game.".