Monsanto and Argentina Nearing Agreement on Soybean Inspections

Monsanto and the government of Argentina have been clashing since March over Monsanto calling for the inspection of exports shipments to guarantee that farmers were paying royalty charges on Monsanto’s GM seed technology. Failing an agreement, Monsanto threatened to pull out of the country and not market its newest seeds to the country’s growers.

Bloomberg now reports that three officials with the Argentine government have revealed that a final accord has been reached between the world’s largest seed company and the world’s top exporter of soymeal feed.

Under the terms of the final agreement, Monsanto will allow the Argentine Seed Institute (Inase) total control over the detection of crops grown from Monsanto’s Intacta seed technology, with Inase delegating testing to multiple grain exchanges, which will be allowed to seek private funding for the necessary testing.

Farmers whose crops have tested positive for genetically modified material will be contacted by Inase regarding the findings. If a farmer contests the findings, a Polymerase Chain Reaction test may be conducted which will show the DNA sequence of the seed.

The government is currently reviewing Monsanto’s proposed inspection methods said Guillermo Bernaudo, chief of Argentina’s Ministry of Agri-Industry, reports the St. Louis Dispatch.

"It's basically impossible not to have a deal. It's a matter of days," he told Reuters.