Canberra, Australia
August 13, 2007
Australian farmers and consumers
can find the information they need to make informed decisions
about GM canola in a new report released today by the
Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry, Peter McGauran.
Mr McGauran said that
GM Canola:
An Information Package*, commissioned by the Australian
Government, brought together a wide range of current
information.
“Covering everything from regulation, supply chain management
and market acceptance of GM crops to agronomic, economic and
legal liability issues at farm level, this package is intended
to make a well-informed contribution to the current debate about
the GM crops,” Mr McGauran said.
“With reviews of the moratoriums under way in four states,
Australian farmers will potentially start growing GM canola from
2008.”
Mr McGauran said today the report found that Australian farmers
stood to gain significantly from the introduction of GM
technology.
“The study concludes that Australia’s main competitor, Canada,
has been growing GM canola for 10 years without any appreciable
loss of market share or prices, while enjoying significant
agronomic benefits,” Mr McGauran said.
“It also found that GM canola offers some solutions to the
problems facing conventional canola in Australia and is likely
to make a valuable contribution to farming systems once farmers
are able to access the technology and adopt it to their
individual circumstances.”
Key points in the report are:
- Canola is an important
crop in Australian winter crop rotations;
- Canola has benefits for
farming enterprises beyond the direct returns the crop
generates. Other crops in the rotation benefit from the weed
control and disease management options canola provides;
- Weed resistance to
conventional canola chemicals and disease pressures are
threatening canola’s contribution to farming systems in
Australia.
The report was produced by the
consultancy firm ACIL
Tasman.
“This report adds further weight to the argument that State
Governments should immediately lift their moratoriums on GM
crops so that Australian farmers can have access to the benefits
of this technology,” Mr McGauran said.
“Australian farmers are extremely efficient and innovative
producers, but to remain internationally competitive, need to be
able to compete.”
*The report is available at
http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/biotechnology:
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GM Canola:
An Information Package MSWord [1.7mb] |
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