Agricultural Biotechnology Council of Australia Statement of Principles: Regulatory Oversight of NBTs

The Agricultural Biotechnology Council of Australia (ABCA) has released a statement of principles on the regulatory oversight of new breeding techniques (NBTs), recognizing their importance in plant and animal breeding. ABCA considers new breeding techniques as innovative improvements and refinements of traditional plant and animal breeding methods. The statement notes that using NBTs can enable breeders to create the same, desired genetic variation with greater precision and efficiency than previous breeding methods.

According to the statement, regulatory oversight of products developed through NBTs, if needed, should be based on sound scientific principles and proportionate to risk. Consistent regulatory oversight of products developed using NBTs would facilitate innovation and allow the uptake of advanced, innovative breeding applications by both private and public sector breeders.

The statement also emphasized that lack of clarity in regulatory oversight of products developed using NBTs hinders innovation and the economic benefits to Australian agriculture.

Read the statement at the ABCA website.