Uruguay’s National Cabinet of Biosafety (GNB) has approved HB4 stress and herbicide-tolerant wheat and soybeans for field testing. Following this approval, it is anticipated that both HB4 wheat and soybeans will be granted approval for cultivation in the country in 2021. HB4 varieties contain the sunflower (Helianthus annuus) homeodomain-leucine zipper 4 (HB4) gene under the control of a promoter which responds to water availability and presence of the plant hormone abscisic acid, granting crops higher yields in water stress conditions.

The GNB also granted field trial authorisation for Bayer’s herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant MON87427 × MON89034 × MON810 × MIR162 × MON87411 × MON87419 genetically modified maize.

Verdeca, the soybean joint venture between Arcadia Biosciences and Bioceres, received approval in Paraguay for its HB4 soybean trait in 2019 (see AgbioNews Nov 12, 2019). The HB4 trait currently has regulatory approval in more than 80% of the global soybean market, having already received approval in the US, Argentina, and Brazil.