SciDev.Net

Cassava hybrids with solid resistant to mosaic have been produced in the decades 1980s and planted now in the whole west and east Africa (Hahn,1980). It is estimated that these resistant to mosaic cultivars cover now more than 4 million hectars in Africa. The rich in protein and essencial amino acids ,rich in lutein , Beta carotene , lycopene, high iron and zinc content are planted now in several Brazilian states (Nassar, 2007, Nassar and Souza, 2007, Nassar and Dorea, 1982, Nassar et al. 2007,. See this link too http://www.geneconserve.pro.br/cassava_df_go.pdf .

These hybrids and cultivars were obtained by a very small support of the Brazilian National council-CNPq to the equipe of the University of Brasilia did´nt ultrapass some tens of thousands of dollars. It was not needed the referred 12 millions of dollars at all because of a simple reason: The biodiversity of cassava possesses all these genes. They could be transferred by simple hybridization from the wild to the cultigen. The genetic variability offers too FITNESS and high ADAPTAION that cannot be reached by molecular transformation. An example on lack to fitness and adaptation of this modified cassava: The molecular transformed cultivar said to be resistant to mosaic which costed a multinational company more than 10 million dollars was abandoned totally by farmers of West africa. Now it is not cultivated at all anywhere or any place!!!

There is, in reality, NO government approval process in the US. Corporate data is accepted and becomes the basis for blanket "approvals."

"stringent" could only be used as an adjective from someone who is not knowledgable or who is receiving industry/government support.