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Chan gave an interview on the program Agro América, broadcast by the Brazilian TV channel Agro Mais, after receiving the title of "IICA Chair in Biotechnology and Sustainable Development" for her contributions to strengthening national science and technology systems
San José, 29 March 2022 (IICA) – Farmers and scientists must get closer and get to know each other better to ensure that research is concretely oriented towards solving the problems and needs of those who produce food, according to Raquel Chan, an Argentine biochemist specializing in plant biotechnology, who spearheaded the development of the HB4 sunflower gene, which confers drought tolerance to wheat and soybeans.
Chan gave an interview on the program Agro América, broadcast by the Brazilian TV channel Agro Mais, after receiving the title of "IICA Chair in Biotechnology and Sustainable Development" for her contributions to strengthening national science and technology systems.
“The IICA Chair is a huge honor, but it also entails a responsibility. I have assumed with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) the commitment to disseminate the results of our work and share what we do in other countries of the Americas. It is about getting closer to the producers and giving them a hand as much as we can. Sometimes we scientists solve problems that are not a priority for farmers. Scientists have to communicate better with growers and the general public,” Chan said.
The expert explained that HB4 is a sunflower gene, which when placed in other plant species makes them more tolerant to water scarcity.
“Although all plants need water–she explained–those that have this type of gene tolerate much longer periods of water deficit without losing productivity. Argentina, like many other countries, has suffered innumerable droughts, periods during which agricultural production has been much lower than when water is available”.
"HB4 wheat and soybeans offer higher productivity in all regions with low rainfall patterns or which occasionally experience drought, according to the field tests we conducted in different places of Argentina and also in Brazil," she added.
A researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) at the Coastal Agrobiotechnology Institute, Chan revealed that the gene also confers tolerance to extreme temperatures at flowering time: "Usually, when there are heat spikes at flowering time, the losses are very significant. Experimentally, we have been seeing that soybeans with the HB4 gene tolerate them much better”.
The scientist considered that wheat and HB4 soybeans are examples of GMOs that are favorable to the environment, since they allow production with less water use.
“This is very important because water is the most precious resource we have on Earth. By using less water, in addition, it is possible to fix more carbon dioxide and reduce the carbon footprint. There are also other examples of environmentally-friendly transgenics. For example, the introduction of the BT gene in corn and other crops has endowed them with resistance to insects, which has reduced the use of insecticides that are highly toxic to the environment.”
Chan specified that the HB4 soybean was conditionally approved by the Ministry of Agriculture of his country in 2015. Its commercial use was subject to the approval of China, which is the largest buyer of Argentine soybeans, and this Asian country has not yet reached a decision.
In the case of HB4 wheat, it was approved in 2020, pending the approval of Brazil, the main destination for cereal exports. The Brazilian National Technical Biosafety Commission (CTNBio) gave its approval in November 2021.
The scientist explained that genetic modification can be used in a variety of crops, but that Argentina has concentrated on those with higher productivity.
“Our country depends on soybeans and wheat and also on corn; however, the results of introducing the HB4 gene were not so satisfying, so we did not move forward. It happens that the regulatory process requires many tests throughout the country and human and animal health requirements, in addition to environmental tests, which have very high costs. Therefore, transgenics are only viable in those crops of great economic importance”, she explained.
Furthermore, the professor of the Universidad Nacional del Litoral, in the central province of Santa Fe, revealed that she is working on corn with a gene that is also from sunflower, called HHB11, which is expected to offer a greater productivity, not in conditions of drought but in floods and with strong winds.
The scientist said that HB4 crops could also be used by small producers, because although the technology has a high cost, this is offset by higher productivity: "It's like considering whether a tractor is affordable or expensive. Buying it costs money, of course, but it allows you to get the job done in less time. HB4 technology is an investment to produce more and better”.
In the interview, Chan elaborated on the advantages that biotechnological advances can offer for greater and more sustainable food production and on the complexities of scientific work in this field.
She also pointed out that "there is a lot of research in the world that aims to reduce losses in agricultural production caused by water deficit and other climate-related problems. HB4 is not the only gene that confers drought tolerance; it is the one that has gone the furthest, moving from the laboratory to field trials and repeatedly showing numerous advantages. In research, work is usually done on small scales, on model plants, and when technology is transferred to crops of agronomic interest under field conditions, many times they do not work the same way, much to the scientists' surprise. For this reason, until today, developed countries with a much larger budget for research have yet to achieve technologies that provide tolerance to water deficit of 20 or 25% such as ours, and which has been tested in almost 100 very inhospitable places.”
"The loss of productivity is a very serious problem not only for producers, but also for consumers, because if little is produced, food costs more," she concluded.
AgroAmerica is a program on the Brazilian TV channel AgroMais, belonging to the Bandeirantes Communication Group, which is the result of an alliance with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
The show features the current situation of the agricultural and rural sectors in the member countries of IICA. It aims towards promoting the exchange of experiences and a discussion on the challenges and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean in the area of agricultural and rural development.
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