The use of pirated seeds in the production and commercialization of various crops in the country increased 25% in the first half of the year, which puts the production of certified seeds in check.
According to the manager of the Colombian Association of Seeds and Biotechnology, Acosemillas, Leonardo Ariza, “in Colombia, in some crops, mainly in rice, soy, corn and cotton, the production of these products is being affected by the use of pirated seeds that are not recognized or certified by the health authority, which in this case is the ICA ”.
The union leader pointed out that “the problem is very serious because calculations that we have made give us figures close to $ 1 billion a year in sales of these pirate seeds, that is a scandalous figure.”
Ariza explained that, for example, on the subject of rice, “There are some groups of producers who, instead of taking the rice to the mills, as it should be, treat it as if it were seeds and that should not be the case because the certified seed is obtained from a process of research, development, that sometimes lasts up to five years to bring a variety to the market, and in these investigations the genetic, physical quality and resistance to pests necessary to offer a guarantee to the market is achieved ”.
According to the Association, the use of these pirated seeds can put the country’s food security at risk.
“When pirate seeds are sold there is no guarantee because the process has already been completed with the production of that crop from which it came. Good quality seed is the basis of 40% of the crop’s yield, that is to say, that already starting the sowing of the crop with a good seed, that percentage of success is guaranteed, the rest depends on a good agricultural practice, irrigation, fertilization and pest control ”, commented Ariza.
Now, contrary to what was stated by Acosemillas, the Vice Minister of Agricultural Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture, Juan Gonzalo Botero, affirmed that “the use of pirated seeds generates a reduction in the yield of the crop, but not to ensure that it is at risk the country’s food security ”.
For his part, the deputy manager of Plant Protection of the Colombian Agricultural Institute, ICA, Herberth Matheus Gómez, indicated that “when we strictly control the illegality of seeds, sometimes the complaint is that there is no availability of certified seeds and that does affect with the food security of the country.
However, Gómez pointed out that “from the ICA we have been making brigades to arrest those pirate seeds in Valle del Cauca, in the Eastern Plains and the Atlantic Coast because the biggest complaints are in cotton, soybeans, corn and rice.”
In this sense, the ICA deputy manager commented that “we have been looking at which companies are conditioning these seeds and in fact, we have already started some sanctioning processes in Cesar and Casanare.”
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