In the region a number and variety of genetically modified crop plants and their products are moving from developmental phases into commercialization and widespread use at an accelerating pace.
Evaluation of safe utilization of genetically modified organisms shows inequal development in the countries of the region.
Living organisms do not respect national boundaries; thus, an organism released in one country might spread to neighboring countries. This possibility is particularly likely where countries have common ecosystems, as is the case in many of the South American countries.
Nowadays there is a recognition of the urgency to ensure that national and regional bodies are properly prepared and equipped to deal with the introduction and control of genetically modified crops with the overriding priority of assuring human and environmental safety.
In various fora the importance of harmonizing policies regarding Agricultural Biosafety in the region was indicated. Recently, efforts have been made to identify common actions, namely, the drawing up and agreement of standard criteria to be considered for decisions on the experimental release and commercialization of GMOs and their derivatives, and the development of a regional database to increase knowledge about GMOs and GMO releases.