Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
November 5, 2007
The grains industry could produce
an additional $157 million worth of canola and wheat each year
if genetically modified (GM) canola is commercialised in
Australia.
 A
report
released today by The
University of Melbourne shows that if GM canola is adopted
on over half the current canola area there will be substantial
economic and environmental benefits.
In the report, Dr Robert Norton and Professor Rick Roush from
the Faculty of Land and Food Resources provide a summary of more
than 20 recent reports on the impact of GM canola in Australia.
“Those reports show that the great bulk of GM canola is sold at
similar prices to conventional canola in most major canola
markets throughout the world” said Dr Norton.
“Australia is not realizing any price premium for producing
non-GM canola and is missing out on significant agronomic and
environmental benefits from growing non-GM canola varieties
under Australian conditions”.
Professor Roush said that Australia has now watched Canada grow
commercial GM herbicide tolerant (HT) canola for more than 10
years.
“The use of GM HT canola has provided substantial benefits to
growers and the environment in Canada where canola production
has increased by 40% and average yields have increased by 27%
since 1996. Over the same period, Australian yields have
declined by 10%.”
The report also updates the potential benefits to Australia
using an adoption scenario published in 2003.With the changes in
the grains industry since 2003, the report proposes that there
are significant economic and environmental advantages from the
new technology.
The key findings were:
- An extra 225,000 hectares
of canola could be grown using conservation farming
practices
- 640 tonnes less triazine
herbicide would be used each year
- Average Australian canola
yields would increase from 1.17t/ha to 1.28t/ha, with an
increase in canola production estimated at 295,000 tonnes
annually
- Wheat production would
increase by 80,000 tonnes on the additional canola area
“Over 100 million hectares of GM
crops are produced in 22 countries each year. In 2003, the
Australian Federal Regulator approved the use of two types of GM
canola but growers have been denied the environmental and
economic benefits of the new varieties,” said Professor Roush.
Copies of the report are available
at
http://www.jcci.unimelb.edu.au/canola2007.html
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