“The big race is for the corn” said Julio Ferrarotti.

Throughout the world, researchers are seeking plants better adapted to stress. In the Biotech Forum, which will take place in Rosario on June 18 and 19, sponsored by Infocampo, will be presented the degree of progress that there is for the crops to have better performance in less favorable situations.

“All lines of work related to heat stress, drought, cold, floods, are
related to climate change, and in this sense what we are going to hear in
the forum concerns to the progress in developed countries, in emerging ones, and, of course, in Argentina.” says Julio Ferrarotti, organizer with Pablo Adreani (Agripac).

- What is being done in the world in terms of adaptation to drought?

-At both private and public levels, there is much activity in the world in
this issue. In the United States, the European Union, Japan, Australia,
Brazil and Argentina there is aimed research. In our country, the station
Obispo Colombres, in Tucumán, has an event for soybean that is at
deregulation in the National Commission of Biotechnology, and Bioceres is
also working with the Universidad Nacional del Litoral.

- What mechanisms are involved in the adaptation of crops to water stress situations?

There are several strategies that can be amplified genes or combined genes
of amplified expression, which regulate defense mechanisms against drought, or it may be the introduction of inedit mechanisms, present in xerófitas species (adapted to dry climates) that are not present in cultivated
species. Mechanisms are linked to stomatal closure, osmotic regulation, cell
tolerance to plasmólisis, etcetera.

In legume we are working on the efficiency of biological nitrogen fixation,
as it has been seen that a plant in a better nutritional status supports
stress better. Ultimately, however, all lines are aimed at improving
efficiency in water use, especially in a scene where the drought seems to be
more frequent.

- What degree of progress is there?

Already, there are different announcements. In the United States have been
shown plants to drought conditions compared to normal plants, and the
positive effects are able to be seen of these transformed plants. Also, the
Biotechnology Institute of Rosario is working on the issue of water shortage
and the photos I saw about the experiments are more than auspicious.

- What are the crops that are of most interest and when they could be released for production?

-The great race is in the corn, which is a crop with high sensitivity to
drought. However, soy is being worked in this direction. The “when” is most
difficult to know because it depends on the regulatory processes.

-What would have happened in this campaign of 2008/09 if farmers were able to use crops better adapted to dry conditions?

-We would have had a lot less losses in performance. Perhaps much of the
production could have been saved.

Source: ASA / Infocampo

NEXTFUEL ARGENTINA opens www.biodirectorio.com, a space for agricultural and bioenergy companies to offer their products and services; a thematic search engine of www.biodiesel.com.ar, one of the most visited sites on spanish-language about biodiesel, agriculture and renewable energy and with an excellent position in major Internet search engines as Google and Yahoo.

We invite all companies of bioenergy and agriculture, as well as organizations, associations, conferences, congresses and exhibitions on these subjects, to register on our Bio-directory, suggesting the category with which they wish to be found in searches.

The Bio-directory also has an english version, advanced search, search by alphabetical order and by category.

Be among the first to join your company to Bio-directory!

info@biodirectorio.com

Biodirectorio.com is a venture of Nextfuel Argentina.

www.biodiesel.com.ar

Developer. De Souza Meirelles is leading a project for expansion of ethanol.

Interview with brazilian producer Joao Carlos de Souza Meirelles.

His company, Frontera Norte, is working on the development of new agricultural zones, founded three cities and colonized one million hectares, mostly in Mato Grosso. Strong commitment to energy sugar cane.

Frontera Norte Ingeniería de Desarrollo Limitada is a company with over 30 years in the development of large zones of new agricultural frontiers of Brazil. “We did what we call in Portuguese, colonization.” said to “La Voz del Campo” the engineer Joao Carlos de Souza Meirelles, group member and former secretary of agriculture of the state of San Pablo. Coming from a family of Portuguese immigrants but with several generations among Brazilian farmers, De Souza Meirelles is one of the “fathers” of the raise of Brazil as the first world exporter of beef.

He also participated in Cordoba as a speaker in the first Argentine-Brazilian Corporate Bioenergy Summit.

He explained that the ventures of Frontera Norte opened opportunities for farmers in southern Brazil with large families who sought new lands for themselves and their children. “To give an example, we have developed rural activities in the state of Mato Grosso in more than one million hectares. These were virgin lands, we did projects, soil´s studies, nature conservation and build cities. I have built three cities on this new frontier, ” De Souza boastful.

- What economic units are we talking about?

Near the cities are small plots for vegetables, fruit farmers who supply urban areas, ranging from one to five hectares. Then, properties that can range from 120 to 250 acres, and ranging from 250 to 2500 or 5000 acres. And more distant from these towns, properties can have 25 thousand acres.

- And in the field of bioenergy, which projects has the company?

In the past two years we have developed a very important project for forming a cluster of bioenergy, it is not a factory or an industry, but a set of three large projects. Each one will plant 60 thousand hectares of sugar cane, a total of 180 thousand hectares. The are about 80 kilometers from one another so the total production reaches one billion liters of ethanol per year, and also electricity will be produced. The industrial part is final study, the construction will be contracted in 2010 and the first unit will start producing in 2012, the second in 2014 and third in 2016.

There is a concern about relative prices, with oil at $ 57 a barrel and soybeans to more than $ 400 a tonne in Chicago. How does this affect the business of biofuels?

-First, the relative prices of oil impacting the entire side of farming inputs (fertilizers and defense derivates). Secondly, for us to produce ethanol and electricity in Brazil, if oil is above the $ 40 we are absolutely competitive with ethanol. And all the experts in the world are convinced that the level of oil prices will stabilize in the coming years around the $ 60. And we are looking increasingly competitive, in five to 10 years we can be competitive with oil $35 or $ 37 a barrel.

In Argentina, and in Córdoba there is great expertise in producing agricultural commodities.

 What do you recommended to guide investment in agro-bio?

-It would be much pretension to make recommendations, but I would allow myself a reflection: what are the problems that farmers, were they from Argentina, Brazil or anywhere, have experienced in the past. 50 years ago we were not the most important thing in our economy because our countries lived of our productions of wheat, corn, meat, coffee. What happened? The generations that came imagined that only the industry was the national salvation and peasants, were considered the second in importance. The great revolution is changing the notion that we are not producers of raw materials but a very important part of the production chain. And if we do not organize the production chain, we are always going to be the absorbers of international prices. The other always win, and we, the producers, are compressed in terms of prices. But if we participate in the organization of the productive chain, of the concepts of price formation and increased productivity, we will be the most important in the chain.

Carlos Petroli

Source: La Voz/ Córdoba / Argentina

Following the publication of the EPA’s draft Regulatory Impact Analysis this week which includes proposed changes to the Renewable Fuels Standards Program, the Argentine Renewable Energies Chamber expressed both concerns and optimism regarding the possible effects this will have on the export-driven Argentine biodiesel industry.

Buenos Aires, May 8, 2009 – A recent study published by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United Status (EPA) is promoting biofuels that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by no less than 50% when compared to their fossil fuel counterparts. This same report classifies different categories of biofuels and concludes that soy-based biodiesel reduces GHG emissions by only 22%. If approved, the EPA’s proposal could cause grave harm to Argentine biodiesel producers, since more than 95% of Argentina’s biodiesel is made from soy oil. Additionally, the industry is export-driven and the United States is Argentina’s second largest export market after the European Union.

“The EPA’s analysis has the potential to drastically reduce Argentine biodiesel exports to the United States. It makes decisions regarding land use change for countries other than the U.S., yet doesn’t appear to take into consideration the positive effects of Argentina’s No-Till farming methods which plays a role in ensuring that Argentine soy biodiesel meets and exceeds the newly proposed stringent U.S. standards,” said Carlos St. James, president of the Chamber.

“While we fully understand and appreciate each nation’s right to establish standards and goals
for products consumed in their country, facts need to correct. We know that Argentine soybased
biodiesel is among the cleanest and environmentally-friendly options. This has been evidenced in scientific studies developed in the U.S. itself some years ago and more recently by our country’s National Institute of Agronomy Technology (INTA, by its initials in Spanish), both of which show reductions in GHG emissions that exceed 70%.”

The EPA has proposed a 60-day window in which the various industry actors can better understand the assumptions in the study and to offer counterproposals and corrections to this data. “Argentina has sound scientific elements to defend its position. We need to work internally with all industry interests along with relevant government agencies to present a common voice to ensure we are heard properly,” affirmed Lucas Trotz, the Chamber’s Manager. The Chamber is requesting a 40-day extension to the initial window, and various Chamber members will travel to Washington to participate in the July 9-11 workshop being organized by the EPA to discuss the draft.

The Chamber will also seek this extension as member of the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, a global association whose members represent 65% of world biofuels production. Bliss Baker, Executive Director of GRFA from its headquarters in Toronto added, “Argentina, as one of the world’s largest biodiesel producers and exporters, will undoubtedly play a key role in ensuring that the industry continues to grow sustainably and we will work with them to present our organization’s point of view regarding the EPA study.”

St. James concludes, “We are confident that at the end of the day common sense, a frank and open dialogue, and the facts will carry the day. If not, the ideals of fair and open trade as espoused by the U.S. will take a step backward in the ongoing task of creating global markets.”