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After the approval for drought-tolerant transgenic wheat flour developed by the Argentine firm Bioceres was known in Brazil, the businessman and one of the founders of that company, Gustavo Grobocopatel, celebrated the news, which he classified as “a new historical milestone ”.

“The approval of HB4 by the Brazilian government is a milestone in the life of Bioceres. Beyond the fact that HB4 manages to increase yields with and without droughts, so fundamental in these times of climate change, it challenges us in other aspects. In principle, if we are capable of being leaders, today's leadership requires not only having technology, but also being part of global knowledge networks, creating or modifying rules, institutions, beliefs, "he said in a public video.

The event approved by the neighboring country is a drought-tolerant wheat that allows its production in situations of water stress. It is an advance introduced from a sunflower gene. "The HB4 wheat is a 100% Argentine development, product of the public-private collaboration of more than 18 years between Bioceres and the research group of the Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral (Conicet-UNL)", they indicated in the company.

In this context, he said that when they founded the company, they did so, among other things, to ask questions about these issues: "Do we want to be leaders? Can we develop technologies and export them? Are we willing to take risks that this entails? Can we be capable of to manage these risks? "

The businessman indicated that what happened "is a great recognition of the work of those who made this technology possible" and highlighted the leadership of Raquel Chan, the researcher in charge of development. He also appreciated the work of the entire team, in charge of developments "that go from the laboratory to the field, from one plant to the other, from an idea to a solution."

Finally, he said that, amid uncertainties and volatilities, "this path is being traveled in the hope of building a better world."

For his part, the economist specialized in agribusiness, Iván Ordóñez, said that it all started with 23 producers with a dream in 2001. “The road was long and includes funding in the New York Stock Exchange going public. The way in which the development was financed also teaches us that no one can be successful alone and that it is necessary to recognize the value that each one contributes when it comes to partnering: shareholders, scientists, producers and the State ”, he explained.

For Ordóñez, in a country that demands immediate results, Bioceres' experience, which took more than a decade to be profitable and almost two years to approve HB4 wheat, "shows that true success stories demand patience."

"There is a misconception on which added value can only occur downstream: the phrase 'you must not sell soybeans, you must sell soybean Milanese in boxes.' The Argentine countryside, especially the Pampas, stands out in the world for its ability to generate value upstream: improving the technologies with which food and grains are made ”, he assured.

“That's what Bioceres is all about, which acts as a bridge between scientific research and production. The approval by Brazil deregulates the cultivation of HB4 wheat and further validates the technology. Now the company has to deploy a monetization strategy for this patent”, he added.

Automatic translation from spanish.