Ruscoe: UK Should Take the Lead Again in GM Technology

Colin Ruscoe, British Crop Production Council (BCPC) chairman, expressed his thoughts on UK government's reduced spending for agricultural research that affects the technology base.

"We should counter this by diverting some of our growing overseas aid payments into UK-based research towards developing GM crops resistant to drought, heat, pests and diseases," said Ruscoe. "This would provide sustainable solutions in famine-prone parts of the world. At the same time, we can use these technology platforms to target key UK crops – wheat, potatoes and oilseed rape."

He also added that the United Kingdom was originally a leader in GM research, particularly in agricultural biotechnology, manifested by contributions of important research centers such as the John Innes Centre, Rothamsted Research, Newcastle University, and the National Institute of Agricultural Botany. Thus, while the other countries in the EU remains idle in terms of GM technology, "UK should again take the lead in researching traits – using GM and other plant breeding technologies."

"By targeting foreign aid into areas where it will have a sustainable impact in developing countries, and by exploiting our world class research base to provide appropriate technologies that improve food production and UK commercial competitiveness, we will surely achieve a win-win situation," Ruscoe concluded.

Read BCPC's press release at  http://www.bcpc.org/press_Foreign-aid-could-fund-UK-based-research-into-GM-crops-that-can-grow-in-drought-ridden-Africa_198.html.