El Salvador: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual
There is no legal impediment to use of biotechnology. Genetically engineered (GE) corn field trials were successfully completed. The Ministry of Environment completed the regulatory framework for their safe use and commercialization after working on it for the past eight years. The current government administration has shown no interest in advancing biotechnology mainly due to ideological positions against it. However, with a presidential election that is taking place on February 2019, there could be a change in the support for biotechnology and its use in advancing agriculture in El Salvador. On April 30, 2008, El Salvador abolished Article 30 of the Planting Seed Law that required imported seeds to have a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that the seeds did not contain GE organisms. El Salvador ratified the Cartagena Protocol in 2003. The Environment Law, effective since 1998 provides guidance on assessing the environmental impact of GE organisms.
