Posted on June, 26, 2023 at 08:32 am
The European Commission will propose relaxing some of its rules on crop technology in an effort to ensure food security and help farmers cope with climate change.
The bloc is considering easing regulations for crops made with so-called new genomic technologies, which can improve tolerance to diseases, pests and environmental stresses, according to a draft proposal due to be unveiled by the commission next month, which has been seen by Bloomberg.
The shift is being considered as current rules aren’t keeping up with developments like gene editing, which the bloc ruled in 2018 should be subject to the same policies as all genetically-modified organisms. The EU in 2021 said it planned to review the bloc’s GMO legislation to reflect advances in gene-edited crops. The UK has also considered changing regulations to allow gene editing in farming after Brexit.
The rollback is intended for plants produced with targeted mutations, made without inserting genetic material, or modifications from the same or closely-related species. It will not apply to crops inserted with foreign species.
The commission’s proposal was reported earlier by the Financial Times.
War in Ukraine
Food security concerns stemming from the war in Ukraine are creating a more favorable environment for the adoption of genetically modified crops globally, according to the head of Bayer AG’s Crop Science unit.
The conflict, which has caused disruptions in grain supplies, was a “wake up call” for food-importing nations in Asia and Africa to seek more self-sufficiency, Bayer’s Rodrigo Santos said in a Tuesday interview in New York City.
“I got a lot of them coming to us and saying, ‘What do we need to do for you to deploy the highest technologies that you have in our country?’” Santos said. Typically, the response is predictable legal systems and respect for intellectual property rights, Santos said.
Bayer is currently exploring ways to supply its technologies in China, as well as Thailand and other Asian and African nations, the Brazilian executive said.
Bayer is one of the world’s largest suppliers of crops that are genetically modified to resist insects and tolerate the use of certain pesticides. The company is making a big bet in digital farming and other tools to help slash carbon emissions in the farming industry.
Source: Business Mirror