---
title: Agricultural Gene Editing & Crop Biotechnology
type: technology
url: "https://www.envisioning.com/research/spore/latam-ex-brazil__ar-agricultural-biotech-gene-editing"
hub: spore
summary: Argentina is the 3rd-largest biotech crop producer globally; its pioneering gene editing regulations allow CRISPR-developed drought-resistant soybeans and wheat to bypass GMO restrictions.
---

# Agricultural Gene Editing & Crop Biotechnology

Argentina is the 3rd-largest biotech crop producer globally; its pioneering gene editing regulations allow CRISPR-developed drought-resistant soybeans and wheat to bypass GMO restrictions.
- Technology Readiness Level: 8/9
- Impact: 3/5
- Investment: 4/5
Argentina is the world's third-largest producer of biotech crops, with over 26 million hectares planted with genetically engineered soybean, corn, and cotton. The country's regulatory framework is uniquely progressive: Argentina was the first country globally to establish specific regulations for gene-edited crops (2015), determining that if no foreign DNA remains in the final product, gene-edited crops are regulated as conventional rather than GMO — bypassing the restrictive approval processes that slow adoption in the EU and other markets.

This regulatory advantage has spawned genuine technology innovation. Argentine researchers developed the world's first drought-tolerant GM wheat (HB4), and companies like BioHeuris are developing novel herbicide tolerance traits using directed evolution — a technology platform now being licensed to the African Agricultural Technology Foundation for trials on sorghum. The government approved five new genetically engineered events in 2023-2024, including new soybean and corn varieties with stacked traits for insect resistance and herbicide tolerance.

The strategic significance is dual: Argentina's agricultural biotech expertise is an export product (licensing traits to African and Asian agriculture), and it underpins the country's agricultural export economy ($40B+ annually). As climate change increases drought frequency and pest pressure globally, Argentina's advanced capabilities in crop genetic modification — both transgenic and gene-edited — become increasingly valuable intellectual property.

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Source: Envisioning — Technology Research Institute (https://www.envisioning.com/research/spore/latam-ex-brazil__ar-agricultural-biotech-gene-editing)