KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — A new wheat variety, resistant to drought, is set to play a vital role in smoothing out South American production in the face of increasing weather uncertainty. HB4 wheat, developed by the Argentine company Bioceres, using a gene derived from sunflowers, is being taken up by growers in Argentina and Brazil.

South America’s major grain and oilseeds producers, Brazil and Argentina are, behind the United States, the second and third largest growers of biotech crop varieties in the world. 

“With more than 26 million hectares planted with genetically engineered soybean, corn and cotton crops, Argentina has the third largest area of GE crops under cultivation in the world,” the attaché said in an annual report on the sector published in December 2023. “The commercial adoption of GE crops began in 1996 with the introduction of herbicide-tolerant soybeans and has seen unprecedented growth in area planted since.

“Currently, 100% of soybeans, 99% of corn, and 100% of cotton planted in Argentina is genetically engineered. While in the past Argentina has primarily been a producer of GE crops destined for feed and fiber, it is now the first major wheat exporter to commercialize GE wheat for food use.” 

The wheat involved is the drought-resistant HB4 variety developed by Bioceres. 

“The approval in Argentina raised concerns among several farmer organizations and exporters, as they understand this approval might put Argentine wheat exports at risk in other markets,” the attaché said. “To address these concerns, government of Argentina created an audit commission within the National Seed Institute (INASE).” 

The Argentine authorities took the view that “the biosafety approval granted to flour derived from HB4 wheat met the regulatory requirement for major market approval and granted full approval for HB4 seed commercialization in May 2022.” 

In an emailed response to questions from World Grain, Martin Mariani, manager of global seed and trait at Bioceres, said, “We’re expecting $15 million to $20 million in incremental EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) over the next years as reported when HB4 wheat received approval for cultivation in Brazil (March 2023).

“In terms of HB4 wheat being planted in Argentina and Brazil, it’s important to note that we don’t see HB4 as a replacement per se for traditional wheat — more like an insurance policy, because it can stabilize production in traditional wheat production regions that are experiencing longer and more regular incidents of drought, like the Central and Southern productive regions of the Argentine Pampas (which contribute more than 95% of wheat production in Argentina) and the southern states of Brazil (90% of Brazil’s productive wheat area), both of which have recently suffered some of their worst, most prolonged droughts in decades.”

He said it’s also being planted in newer wheat production areas like Brazil’s Cerrado region, “where we are working with Embrapa (Brazil’s Agricultural Research Corporation) to develop subtropical HB4 wheat varieties.”

“In Argentina in the 2022-23 season, more than 55,000 hectares of HB4 wheat were planted out of a total of 5.9 million hectares,” Mariani said. “Overall, from 2019 up to today, over 100,000 hectares of HB4 wheat were planted in Argentina. We also have collaborations with other seed companies that are developing HB4 varieties in Argentina.” 

HB4 wheat is the only available drought-tolerant wheat technology available today, he said. 

“It enables crops to maintain photosynthesis and generate antioxidants and Osmo protectants in conditions of water stress, and therefore offers more predictable yields under adverse conditions,” Mariani said. “It can therefore play a key role in the adaptation of farming systems to more extreme climates.”

HB4 wheat increases yields by an average of 20% in water-limited conditions, a key adaptation that favors double-cropping systems, where water management is increasingly critical, he said. 

“Importantly, from the grower perspective, the technology doesn’t cause any drag yield when there is no drought and is tolerant to glufosinate herbicide,” Mariani said.

“HB4 also has shown environmental benefits,” he said. “Under no-till practices, HB4 soy-wheat rotations result in an estimated 1,650 kg of carbon fixed into the soil per hectare per year, compared to positive emissions from conventional soy monoculture.

“On average, three hectares under this system will remove the annual emissions of one car. Also, its ability to grow better with less water could help reduce land use and farmland expansion, limiting deforestation and negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services like water filtration.”

HB4 wheat is approved for food and feed in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, Colombia, Thailand and Chile, as well as Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, which also have approved HB4 wheat for cultivation, Mariani noted. 

“HB4 wheat dossiers are under evaluation in Bolivia, Uruguay and the Philippines,” he said.

Brazil embraces GM crops

In a report from Brazil, also published in December, the attaché there said Brazil is the second-largest producer of biotech crops in the world, putting the area planted with GE traits for 2022-23 at 68 million hectares. 

“Adoption rates for soybeans and cotton reached 99% and for corn, 95%,” they said. “Continued use of biotechnology seeds has been a major contributor to yield growth in Brazil since its adoption.”

They explained that the National Technical Commission (CTNBio), which is responsible for assessing new technologies in Brazil, had approved the new variety of wheat on Nov. 11, 2021. 

“Brazil approved the import of this product in the form of flour, but it was not approved to be imported as unmilled grain or as seeds for cultivation,” meaning that “as the situation currently stands, the GE wheat is planted and milled in Argentina, and the wheat flour is imported into Brazil.”

In early March 2023, Brazil approved the planting and sale of HB4, when Abitrigo (the Brazilian Wheat Industry Association) published an official statement on the case noting that it was in favor of innovative developments that would “bring benefits to the health and food security of Brazilians.” 

Abitrigo stressed that there had not been “considerable demonstrations by Brazilian consumers” following the approval of imports of flour made from HB4 wheat, the attaché said. 

“The final statement was that approval of the planning, import and commercialization of transgenic wheat (HB4) in the Brazilian national territory by CTNBio reassures the different players in the market and that the final word will be with consumers,” the attaché said.

“Consumers in Brazil are logical and rational, tied to price, especially due to budget constraints from Brazilian households,” the attaché said. “Brazil has been importing the flour with GE wheat for human consumption since November 2021, but now Brazilian farmers will be able to plant the GE wheat seed in their country.” 

Brazil became the second nation, after Argentina, to approve a variety for this purpose.

“For human consumption only, food from HB4 wheat has already been approved for import either in the form of wheat flour or as finished products such as baked goods in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Africa, Colombia, Nigeria and the United States. Those countries are not authorized to plant genetically engineered wheat. Historically, Brazil has always depended on imports to be able to supply the domestic market with wheat. For this reason, national producers see in the release of HB4 an opportunity to increase Brazilian production. 

“The drought tolerance is crucial for planting in regions with excessive drought, which is the case in central-western Brazil.” 

According to the attaché there, Argentina has 73 biotech crop events approved for production and commercialization, including 20 soybean events, 40 maize events, seven cotton events, two alfalfa events, one safflower event, two potato events, and one wheat event. They put the 2022-23 total area planted with biotech varieties at 24.5 million hectares.

Public attitudes

The attaché said that “only small non-governmental organizations or civil society groups fight against transgenic products.” 

“However, GE crops (regardless of the intended use or trait) are associated with plant protection products popularly considered harmful to the environment and health,” they said. “For years, there has been growing activism against the use of glyphosate,” which meant that “in 2021, the announcement of the HB4 drought-tolerant wheat approval that is also tolerant to glufosinate-ammonium sparked controversy among consumers.”

The attaché in Brazil quoted CTNBio data from Oct. 3, 2022, before the approval of HB4 wheat, showing that there are 105 GE events approved for commercial cultivation in Brazil, of which 55 events are for corn, 23 for cotton, 18 for soybeans, six for sugar cane, two for eucalyptus, and one for a virus-resistant variety (of) dry edible bean.

“Public perception regarding GE plants in the country varies by audience,” they said. “Brazilian farmers’ and ranchers’ acceptance of these techniques is very well established.”  

As far as the new wheat is concerned, they report that in May 2022, the Brazilian Association of Biscuits, Pasta, and Industrialized Breads and Cakes published the results of a December 2021 research conducted to analyze acceptance (or not) to this new variety of wheat amongst consumers.