CHICAGO - U.S. farmers stand to gain from a deal between Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., the world's top seed company, and life sciences giant Monsanto Co. to settle lawsuits over biotech seeds dating back to their debut in the 1990s, industry sources said yesterday.
"This will allow a larger number of (crop) varieties to carry the biotech trait, which will give farmers in some areas more options in choosing their seed," Tom Slunecka, director of development at the National Corn Growers Association, said. He said the lawsuits disputing patents and ownership of plant breeding material between Pioneer, a unit of No. 1 U.S. chemical company DuPont Co. , and Monsanto had limited the number of biotech seed varieties available to farmers.
"It could potentially increase competitiveness for these (biotech) traits," he said, adding that Pioneer and Monsanto would now be both partners and competitors.
This week, Pioneer and Monsanto announced a deal ending 11 lawsuits initiated at a time when crops with genetically-modified organisms to make them resistent to pests and certain types of herbicides were new in the market.
The popularity of transgenic crops has soared among U.S. farmers since they were introduced in the mid-1990s, with three-fourths of soybeans and one-third of corn to be planted this year expected to sprout from gene-altered seeds.
The U.S. Agriculture Department has said the biggest jump in 2002 biotech seedings would be in corn, rising to 32 percent of 79 million acres this year from 26 percent last year.
Plantings of genetically-modified soybeans are expected to increase by 6 percent to 74 percent of the total crop.
Nearly all of the biotech soybeans are of the Roundup Ready variety that contains a gene developed by Monsanto that enables the plant to withstand its powerful Roundup herbicide.
Lower costs and higher output are behind their popularity, although green groups say that more research is need to ensure that transgenic foods are safe for human consumption.
"This is a ground-breaking agreement that enhances our ability to serve our customers more effectively," said Howard Minigh, Group Vice President of DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition in a statement issued this week.
"Both DuPont and Monsanto have excellent products and technologies, and this agreement further ensures that farmers can use the best of what both companies have to offer."
Monsanto Chief Operating Officer Hugh Grant said "this is a win for farmers and a positive development for how the agricultural industry brings new innovations to market".
Pioneer spokesman Doyle Karr said yesterday the deal would allow both companies to "focus our efforts on competing in the market place as opposed to in the courtroom."
Under the agreement, Pioneer will be allowed to sell Roundup Ready soybean and Roundup Ready corn seed in exchange for royalty payments for the use of genes developed by Monsanto that are inserted into the seed.
Roundup Ready corn has not yet been approved for use in Europe, and has a small market in the United States.
"There are a lot of (U.S.) farmers who are interested in it when there are very tough weed problems that the Roundup system would help correct," he added.:
