“Gov’t, Monsanto reach deal on grain controls”

…After months of negotiations, the government announced yesterday it has reached an agreement with multinational biotechnology giant Monsanto over controls to farmers’ grains, which the company demands to ensure they get paid royalties…The government will take over the inspections through the INASE national seed institute, and carry out the verification that Monsanto used to handle from now on, Agriculture Minister Ricardo Buryaille announced yesterday at a press conference….The move came after protests from farmers, agricultural lobbies and other members of the farming production chain in Argentina, who complained that Monsanto’s inspections were abusive and facilitated by their dominant position in the market…“The INASE will be the only entity allowed to carry out inspections to determine whether the seeds that are being legally sold or not. In case they aren’t, the institute will issue sanctions, and developers who consider they have property rights over the seeds will be able to demand them in court,” Buryaille said…