Bayer’s new GM soybeans to account for 10% of Brazil’s 2022/23 plantings
Foreign media on November 15th: Bayer AG’s Brazilian agricultural unit said the company’s new genetically modified soybeans will account for about 10% of Brazil’s total soybean planting area in 2022/23.
Bayer’s Intacta2 Xtend soybeans are tolerant to Dicamba herbicides and insect pests. The 2022/23 planting area is about 4.3 million hectares, much higher than the previous year’s 243,000 hectares.
The third-generation GM soybeans have been tested in more than 500 regions across Brazil over the past two years, ensuring high yields, with dozens of farmers reporting average yields as high as 100 bags per hectare (60 kilograms per bag), Bayer said. The soybean yield of individual farmers has reached more than 120 bags per hectare. In the past, only a handful of farmers were able to achieve triple-digit yields on very small fields, Bayer said. According to Brazil’s National Commodities Supply Corporation (CONAB), this yield will be almost double the Brazilian average of 59 bags/ha.