MONSANTO Australia has made a rare foray into the commentary on the moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops in South Australia, with its managing director calling for the ban to be lifted and farmers to make their own choices.
The company, which developed the Roundup Ready (RR) technology used in GM canola grown in Victoria, NSW and WA has tended to keep a low profile in arguments on the pros and cons of GM, preferring to leave advocacy for the benefits of GM to groups such as biotech peak body CropLIfe or grower groups like the Producers Forum.
However, managing director Daniel Kruithoff, said he felt it was time South Australian canola producers had the same suite of choices as their interstate competitors.
“We want to see the farmers have choice, and the feedback we are getting, especially out of the canola producing zones on the South Australian-Victorian border is that farmers are looking over the fence and seeing what their neighbours are doing and want to have the same range of options,” Mr Kruithoff said.
And he said the lack of investment from major companies during the nation-wide moratorium on the production of GM was clear proof of what SA would miss out on if it did not lift its ban.
“During the moratoria across the country in the 2000s, the national breeding programs stalled and that’s why now we have GM varieties that are only just beginning to catch up with the technology on offer in conventional lines,” he said.
“Government officials have to assess the economic impact for their state and economy and have to understand that the moratorium stifles innovation.”
He said now, with research again full steam ahead, GM varieties in the pipeline were yielding 12pc better than conventional triazine tolerant (TT) lines in National Variety Trial data.
“That investment in research delivers real productivity gains.”
He said he had been motivated to speak out after hearing farmers in SA complain they did not have access to GM technology.
“The push for GM in SA is being driven by farmers, and we are supporting them in their quest for farmer choice.”
