Australia
March 23, 2022

Growers in South Australia celebrated their first harvest of genetically modified canola in 2021, joining their counterparts across New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia in accessing the technology. - Photo: DPI NSW

The Agricultural Biotechnology Council of Australia (ABCA) is an industry initiative established to increase public awareness of, and encourage informed debate and decision-making about, gene technology.

A major milestone for the plant science industry and Australian farming was celebrated in 2021, with the 25th anniversary of the commercial cultivation of GM crops.

Since the introduction of pest-resistant cotton varieties in 1996, GM crops have been a staple of Australian farming, ith the environmental, agronomic and economic gains they bring a key part of their success and growth.

In recognition of the milestone for GM crops, CropLife Australia released a video to launch a ‘25 years of GM crops’ campaign.

“For a quarter of a century, GM crops have played a significant role in Australian farming systems, allowing farmers to radically reduce their carbon footprint and better protect the health of their soil,” CropLife Australia chief executive officer Matthew Cossey says.
 

“As we celebrate 25 years of GM crops, we look to the future and the importance of continuing to leverage the benefits afforded by agricultural biotechnology to address the challenges of today and those we are yet to face.”

Meanwhile, growers in mainland South Australia are celebrating their first harvest of GM canola and safflower varieties, with the best prices per tonne in the country.

The latest Bayer GM Canola Market Report shows South Australian GM canola priced at $915 per tonne, compared with $840/t in Victoria and $830/t in Western Australia.

SA’s Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development David Basham says the high price for South Australian GM canola demonstrates the importance of giving growers the choice of what they want to grow.

“More than 23,000 hectares of GM canola were planted around the state this season,” Mr Basham says. “GM canola has been a real boon for South Australian farmers, with not only the highest returns in Australia but with less inputs.”

Paper outlines costs of going GM-free

In a new discussion paper entitled Gains Foregone by Going GMO Free: Potential Impacts on Consumers, the Environment and Agricultural Producers, leading academics in the US and Canada have outlined the benefits of GM foods and products and the potential cost to society if the technology were removed from the marketplace, including the potential global impacts and the implications for less-developed countries.

Released by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, the paper highlights research showing that since their first widespread commercial adoption 25 years ago, GM crops have transformed production systems in the places where the technology has been used, using less land, energy and chemicals, and significantly reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture.

The authors argue that without GM crops as part of global cropping systems and food production, the second of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations – to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture – will be compromised.

The paper also focused on the “significant revolution” promised by gene editing technologies, with research citing field trial yield increases of up to 20 per cent for rice and 200 per cent for sorghum. The improved ability of plants to photosynthesise, increasing the amounts of carbon dioxide a plant is capable of sequestering while also increasing yield, is touted as a promising result for food and nutrition security.

Regulator licenses field trials of GM crops

Australia commercialised varieties of  GM cotton and carnations in 1986,  canola in 2003 and safflower in 2018, following years of research and development and field trials.

All research involving genetically modified organisms is licensed and overseen by the Gene Technology Regulator, which has specific responsibility to protect the health and safety of people and to protect the environment from any potential risks.

As at the end of 2021, field trials licensed by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator around the country, of relevance to the grain and fodder industries, include wheat, barley, chickpeas, canola, ryegrass, buffalo grass, sorghum and Indian mustard.

Table 1: Field trials licensed by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.

*Application under evaluation.

Source: Office of the Gene Technology Regulator, 2021

More information: Agricultural Biotechnology Council of Australia

South Australian Premier – SA's GM canola the most valuable in the country

CropLife Australia – Celebrating 25 years of GM crops this National Agriculture Day

CAST – Gains foregone by going GMO free

Australian Government Department of Health – Dealings involving intentional release

Website: http://www.grdc.com.au

Published: March 24, 2022