ID :
30247
Fri, 11/14/2008 - 17:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/30247
The shortlink copeid
WA lifts ban on GM cotton in Kimberley
A ban on genetically modified cotton crops has been lifted in Western Australia. The WA government announced it would lift the moratorium on commercial production of GM cotton in the East Kimberley region's Ord River Irrigation Area in the state's north.
A report into GM crops last year estimated GM cotton would be worth more than $50 million a year to the region and would generate 200 full-time jobs. Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman said the decision followed extensive GM cotton trials in the area over the past decade.
"Over the years, trials of GM cotton in the Ord have frequently out-yielded Australian production by about 10 per cent," Mr Redman said.
"These trials have shown that there are no agronomic problems, including the control of insects, in growing GM cotton in the Ord.
"Importantly, there have been no environmental concerns with the crops."
The trials were conducted under the supervision of the Office of Gene Technology
Regulator, the WA Department of Agriculture and Food, and the CSIRO.
More than 90 per cent of Australia's cotton crop is already GM and the use of GM
cotton will reduce chemical use in the Ord, Mr Redman said.
"In the 1970s, WA tried growing non-GM cotton and it was a disaster, with the plants
infested with pests," he said.
"Growers had to spray pesticides up to 40 times each season.
"In comparison, our GM cotton trials have only required two spray applications with
insecticides that are far more environmentally-friendly than the now-banned DDT used
in the 1970s."
Opening up the Ord to GM cotton could relieve stress on the Murray Darling system,
Mr Redman said.
"Cotton growers facing severe water shortages in the eastern states will also have
an alternative site that is well supplied with water all year round, and we may see
some of their operations move to the Ord, providing relief to the Murray-Darling
system," he said.
The WA government is reconsidering a moratorium on GM canola and assessing risk
management issues surrounding the oilseed crop in GM form.
A report into GM crops last year estimated GM cotton would be worth more than $50 million a year to the region and would generate 200 full-time jobs. Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman said the decision followed extensive GM cotton trials in the area over the past decade.
"Over the years, trials of GM cotton in the Ord have frequently out-yielded Australian production by about 10 per cent," Mr Redman said.
"These trials have shown that there are no agronomic problems, including the control of insects, in growing GM cotton in the Ord.
"Importantly, there have been no environmental concerns with the crops."
The trials were conducted under the supervision of the Office of Gene Technology
Regulator, the WA Department of Agriculture and Food, and the CSIRO.
More than 90 per cent of Australia's cotton crop is already GM and the use of GM
cotton will reduce chemical use in the Ord, Mr Redman said.
"In the 1970s, WA tried growing non-GM cotton and it was a disaster, with the plants
infested with pests," he said.
"Growers had to spray pesticides up to 40 times each season.
"In comparison, our GM cotton trials have only required two spray applications with
insecticides that are far more environmentally-friendly than the now-banned DDT used
in the 1970s."
Opening up the Ord to GM cotton could relieve stress on the Murray Darling system,
Mr Redman said.
"Cotton growers facing severe water shortages in the eastern states will also have
an alternative site that is well supplied with water all year round, and we may see
some of their operations move to the Ord, providing relief to the Murray-Darling
system," he said.
The WA government is reconsidering a moratorium on GM canola and assessing risk
management issues surrounding the oilseed crop in GM form.
