For five years, genetically modified cotton was planted in an illegal area in Mato Grosso state, openly disregarding a biosafety measures created by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA). Mongabay found plantations of GM cotton in the municipality of Marcelândia, 641 kilometers (400 miles) from the state capital Cuiabá, where agribusiness is the main economic activity. Until early May 2024, genetically modified cotton plantations were banned from 31 municipalities in Mato Grosso, in an area considered an exclusion zone under Ministry of Agriculture Ordinance 437. The protection, lifted with strong support from Embrapa, a government corporation that holds GM cotton patents, was aimed at preventing contamination of native cotton, a natural seed used by family farmers as well as Indigenous and Quilombola communities. A seed is considered genetically modified when it receives a gene from another living being in order to acquire some new characteristic, usually resistance to pests and herbicides, which favors large-scale production intended for export — the basis of Brazil’s agribusiness. Genetically modified seeds have been planted within the exclusion zone since 2019, starting as a trial at the Modelo farm. After adjustments, commercial-scale cultivation began at the Nossa Senhora de Nazaré farm. Both are owned by mega-producer Gilson Pinesso and are located in Marcelândia, a municipality with just over 10,000 inhabitants. At the Modelo farm, a 5-hectare (12-acre) plantation yielded 320 arrobas or 4,800 kilograms (10,580 pounds) of cotton. This year, commercial plantations at the Nossa Senhora de Nazaré farm, 18 km (11…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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