“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

In order for ” the river to be a waterway system”, some work needs to be done. Cereals and minerals show that the fluvial way can repay the pending investments.

ROSARIO. – Somebody must be very convinced of the externalities that the high speed train will generate justifies its investment. Super convinced, judging by the foreign trade infrastructure disinvestment (that moves the Argentine economy), that is to say, the forgetfulness of the Belgrano Cargas railroad and the delay of dredging, signaling and marking of waterway buoys works, in the north of Santa Fe.Â

Regarding the river an railway tracks a Moyano is needed

It is not that the Rosario Board of Trade, the most active institution in the admonition on the low agricultural logistic standards, does not have sufficient lobby. Last week they organized a waterway conference, with a lot of qualified audience. But important authorities were no present.

The waterway, with 34 feets all the way to San Martin (on the north of this city) and 25 feets up to Santa Fe, encouraged the oil and multinationals grains company to settle on both river sides of Parana. In the last five years productive investments (extension of plants and diversification, some for biodiesel) for US$2000 million were made, indicated Jorge Weskamp, president of Rosario stock-market.

But a Panamax ship, of 60,000 tons, leaves from San Martin with 46.000. And it must be completed in Brazil, where it takes between 13 and 20 days more, with daily rents of more than US$ 93.000.

Among the people that were present, Juan Manuel Forn, director of Molinos Río de la Plata – company that culminated a US$ 200 million investment in a crushing plant – said that a traffic of 25 million tons in year 2014 (today less than 14 million are moved) “would make dredging economically viable even in the critics paths of the Paraguay river”.

North Santa Fe

In his speech, the undersecretary of Puertos y Vías Navegables de la Nación, Ricardo Luján, dispassionately numerated what has been done and what would need to be done. “1000 million pesos have been invested in improvement of the harbor infrastructure. Our team dredged and buoys marked the upper part of the Parana and this year the concession of the North Santa Fe dredging will be solved”, he promised.

In a reference – that tried to avoid the little interest that the harbor-marine-fluvial complex has for the K administrations to the “reactivation of the naval industry”, Luján changed the tone to remind the 500 million subsidies destined to the naval leasing. The faces of the fluvial shipbuilders who could perceive these funds for the construction of hulls, nodded. Nothing was said regarding the requested and never granted leasing for the construction of cereal oceanic ships.

Luján concluded with a brief reference regarding his portfolios most important jobs advances, that lost importance with the enumeration of politically aligned facts: the master plan and director of the main navigation system of the Parana river.

Pablo Ferrés, executive director of Terminal 6 and president of the Cámara de Puertos Privados Comerciales synthesized in what conditions the river was developed: on an economically reactive way. The economy was the one that impelled a reaction in the fleet supply, not the planning. Or in terms that the consultant in ports and transport Antonio Zuidwijk prefers: “There is no master plan”.

“Today there are approximately 1700 hulls. The great majority got incorporated in the last two years. It is necessary to take advantage of the present conjuncture or we are going to lose the opportunity”, warned Ferrés. The advantage is being taken by the Brazilian iron mineral. Only the mining Tinto River is removing 1 million tons. When Jindal is added, in 2010 the mining alone will move more than 15 million tons.

“The waterway is a system that must be efficient so that they dare to navigate 3000 kilometers by river, that again latter on will have to navegate up by the sea [to the consumers of the north markets]“, Ferrés indicated. That system contemplates that ports like those in the north, like Barranqueras, be supplied by the Belgrano Cargas. “This is a State matter; the development of a great region is being held down. No doubt that using the railroad, the hull and removing a complete ship generates gains”, analyzed Ferrés.

The efficiency of the system also depends, according to Zuidwijk, on the institutional conditions, like the renegotiation of the contract with Hidrovía SA and the instrumentation of the Parana master plan. “In July of 2007 an understanding was signed to take the draught to 36 feet and to extend the concession until 2021, that also would be extended up to Corrientes”, said. Zuidwijk requested more information to the Unidad de Renegociación de Corrientes (Uniren); the answer was: “We are analyzing the information and everything indicates that this year an agreement will be reached…”.

To Zuidwijk it worries more that the complementary jobs of the 34 feets are not done, while the 36 feet are expected, that is to say: more crossing places, better maneuvers zones, more delay and emergency roads, critics sectors of the river simulation models and the implementation of electronic naval maps.

Regarding the master plan, he considered that “it deserves the amplest support”, although the fact until now is only a first diagnosis, bases of a masterful plan that, strictly speaking, is “a plan of action elaborated in the high level, where the works are indicated to be realised to complete a project in an established period, with dates and goals, and periodically reviewed”, illustrated. The plan project would have, according to Zuidwijk, to begin in Ravines and to include to Parana-Guazú and the channel Martin García, to explore the possibility of going up by a channel and going down through the other, or of elevating empty by ones and of lowering plenty through the other. With symphathy, and without ironies, the administrator of Navigation and Ports of Paraguay, Juan Carlos Muñoz Ore, said “Antonio [Zuidwijk] left us outside of the masterful plan, but we are possibly going to have to be contemplated”. Paraguay is responsible for 80% of the loads that sail the hidroviario system.

Any plan, according to the consultant in infrastructure and harbor management Gustavo Anschütz, must take care of the global marine logistic tendencies. With a resource to the alliteration, spoke of the federalisation that generates the feederización: “The tendency to hubs of feeders Is clear. It is probable that in five years ships of more than 1500 TEU won´t enter to the Río de la Plata . The economy of the transport will prioritize, and for that reason it is necessary to impel the growth of the fluvial ports. A “barcacera” waterway is high-priority “, he concluded.

It is the politics…Â

Horacio López, an authority with 30 years of river and president of the Permanent Commission of Transport of the Cuenca del Plata (Cptcp), said that only the “politics” can make the river become a waterway. “If the works are not made we will lose the privilege of this road at the hands of other multimodal methods, as taking out grains for containers”, López said.Â

As solution to the cellar lack proposed to increase the dynamic cellar, increasing the frequency of barges – as long as it is able to operate at night, with buoy mark and adapted signaling -. “The travel today is done in 28 days. If you increases the frequency of transport, there will be an affluence of loads for the smallest costs that would be generated when taking more trips, in the same time, and with the same offer”, he explained.Â

López concluded with what he estimates will be the new factor of growth of the waterway: the minerals that get off Brazil to finish in the world sponge of raw materials, China.

By the way, while this was commented, it was known that this traffic made the registrations of cereal ship rents jump: a daily rent of US $303.000 for the ship China Steel Team was paid, that will leave tomorrow with iron mineral from Brazil to China. The last registration, of the same route for the same product, was of US $95.000.Â

By Emiliano Galli

Special correspondent

Source: La NaciónÂ

Paradox: the river is axis of regional integration and of local discriminationÂ

In South America they invested US $3900 millions in 29 infrastructure projects, in the outline of the Initiative for the Infraestructura Regional Sudamericana (Iirsa). These projects are paid with funds of the Inter-american Development Bank (IDB), the  Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) and the Fonplata.Â

None of those that are in application stage embraces the waterway, in spite of the fact that it is one of the 10 axes contemplated by Iirsa.Â

Jorge Alvarez, president of the Cámara Naviera Argentina, highlighted the “asymmetric competition [that the waterway faces] of subsidized ways of transport. There is a high tax pressure and works as bridges or locks without planning, together with the total absence of a transport policy that encourages the use of the waterways.”Â

Alvarez also referred to that when one speaks of fluvial sailing the concern arises for the environment [there is a limitation for the sailing of ships of more than 230 length meters in the Par-gional and of local discrimination local ná for environmental], “but the biggest contamination in the waters are generated by the urban centers and the industries.”

Regarding the lack of planning that risks all projection of growth of the waterway he mentioned the idea of taking from 78 to 83 the level mark of the lock of Yacyretá: “That makes the sailing inoperable “, he indicated.

“There is no reliable organism in the waterway matter, it is necessary to request data to the builders”, he added.

For Alvarez, the priorities are: to integrate the entirety of the fluvial system of the Cuenca del plata; to activate the lirsa project and to request financing to the Fonplata; to have an unified statistical system; to develop road and rail nets with access to the terminals; to enable the channel of sailing of Salto Grande; to create a Dirección Nacional de Transporte Fluvial (although he asked to not fall in the excess of regulations), and to give to the fluvial transport equality of tax treatment, social security, and of fuels and tolls, as those that have the other means of transport.

Grain logistics: field, the empire of the trucksÂ

The trucks owea lot to the crop of cereals. Of the 95 million tons that will take place in 2008 (75 millions will be exported), 73 millions will move in trucks from the barn to the port or the plants, with a journey average of 300 kilometers (atUS $0,08 the ton/km) against 800.000 tons that use the waterway (to US $0,01 tn/km).Â

These data were given by the holder of the Dirección de Informaciones y Estudios Económicos of the Rosario Board of Trade, Rogelio Ponton, when putting numbers to the grain logistics. “If we added all the means, the transport represents US $1900 millions that the producer pays.”Â

With FOB values of export for US $30.000 millions, “the State keeps with US $11.000 millions. It is a lot of money that contributes what generates more foreign currencies. There is no money for infrastructure?”, he asked.Â

The index of dry Baltic material -used to measure the value of the freight- went from 1100 in 2002 to 11.800 now. To these values it is necessary to add, on one hand the grain ship demands of China (it takes some 340 million tons of mineral of Brazilian iron) and the fact that from January of 2007 all the oil ships have to have double hull. “80% of those that arrived didn’t have double hull”, said Pontón, and added that this only caused an increase of 30% of the rate.Â

“If the navigable road is taken to 36 feet up to US $6 per ton would be won”, explained the specialist of the Board of Trade.Â

Source: La Nación