Vietnam has allowed the cultivation of three genetically modified corn varieties

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just recognized the first three genetically modified corn varieties that are allowed to go into mass production in Vietnam, promising a huge increase in productivity and quality compared to conventional corn varieties being cultivated. work.

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The first 3 genetically modified corn varieties are grown in Vietnam

Specifically, three corn varieties were named NK66 BT (carrying Bt11 transgenic event), NK66 GT (carrying GA21 gene transfer event) and NK66 Bt / GT (carrying Bt11 and GA21 gene transfer events).

Outstanding productivity

The above three varieties of corn are Syngenta Vietnam Co., Ltd. created from the background of NK66 corn hybrids.

The results of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's test on the above three maize varieties show that NK66 BT and NK66 BT / GT varieties are effective in controlling high stem borers. In particular, all parts of the plant exhibit resistance to pests and diseases, especially for stem borers.

Evaluating the results of starvation test with maize variety NK66 GA21 , Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said, this transgenic corn variety showed very high resistance to herbicides. The use of this corn in combination with Glyphosate 1 can manage weeds well throughout the crop.

An indispensable trait from genetically modified varieties is the superior productivity compared to the varieties.

Experimental results with NK66 Bt showed that the average yield was 9.24 tons / ha , up to 1.18 tons / ha compared to the same background. The variety NK66 BT / GT produces an average yield of 9.4 tons / ha , while the seed yield should only reach 7.76 tons / ha.

In terms of seed trade, Mr. Kumar Datta, General Director of Syngenta Vietnam Company, said the company will sell the seed to farmers to plant the first crop in April 2015, ie only about 10 more days.

In the first season, the focus on seed sale and technology transfer will focus on a number of provinces including Dak Lak, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Son La. This is to control the process of transferring seeds and technology so that farmers can grow these three genetically modified corns to achieve the highest productivity, contributing to income growth.

However, Syngenta Vietnam has not yet announced the price of corn varieties, although it insists it will ensure reasonable prices for corn farmers to benefit the most.

Genetically modified corn promises a lot of productivity and quality compared to normal corn varieties.(Illustration)

Prospects to increase income and reduce imports

Although it is an agricultural country, every year, Vietnam still has to import a huge amount of maize from abroad, mainly importing GM corn for animal feed.

Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show that in the first 11 months of 2014, Vietnam had to spend more than 3 billion USD to import animal feed. In particular, corn imports alone account for about 1 billion USD.

This indicates the need to improve the productivity and quality of existing corn varieties to meet the needs of the domestic livestock industry.

With the above comments, Mr. Pham Dong Quang, Deputy Director of Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said, in Vietnam corn is an important crop. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2014, the area planted to maize accounted for 1.2 million hectares and is on the rise. Corn production reached 5.6 million tons.

However, the volume of corn needed to import for animal feed is still very large. In terms of volume, in 2014, Vietnam had to import 4.3 million tons.

Therefore, according to Mr. Pham Dong Quang's assessment, mass production of genetically modified corn varieties will help increase productivity and reduce the amount of corn imported . These three transgenic corn varieties will help farmers have more options to increase productivity and quality of cultivation.

However, due to conflicting opinions about the harmful effects of genetically modified crops in general and genetically modified corn in particular for human health and ecosystems, Mr. Pham Dong Quang commented that, at In Vietnam, corn is genetically modified to produce animal feed only, so it is not necessary to paste genetically modified foods.