The head of NIAB is calling on the next government to prioritize implementing legislation on precision farming in agriculture

A prominent British scientist is urging the next government to prioritize finalizing detailed legislation needed to bring into force last year’s Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act, according to a press release. This move aims to accelerate the development of crop varieties that increase yields, increase climate resilience and reduce environmental impact.

In a speech at the Westminster Forum event titled ‘The next steps for genetically modified food in England’ on June 17, NIAB’s chief executive, Professor Mario Caccamo, highlighted that after 10 months of scrutiny and debate, both houses of Parliament had approved the Precision Farming Bill in March 2023. This legislation establishes a framework for accelerating and streamlining the regulation of precision breeding techniques, including CRISPR gene editing, in agriculture.

He noted that this approach is in line with progressive and respected regulatory bodies around the world, such as those in Australia, Canada, Japan, Argentina, the US and Brazil. These regulations are based on the scientific consensus that precision-grown products pose no greater risk to human or animal health or the environment than their conventionally farmed counterparts.

Caccamo said it was “hugely disappointing” that the outgoing British administration had not fully implemented its flagship legislation. He cautioned that without the necessary secondary legislation to trigger its provisions, the Act remains ineffective and serves no practical purpose.

Caccamo stressed that officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had carefully prepared the required implementing rules, which were submitted as a draft to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in April. The legislation was expected to be presented to parliament in July. However, he warned against an “unexpected interruption” resulting from early general elections, stressing that such delays should not impede continued progress.

“Investors and developers are lining up to propose exciting innovations that will support more sustainable and productive farming systems, such as US food group JR Simplot Co, whose gene-edited strawberries fruit three times longer than their unedited counterparts, producing up to five times more fruit per plant,” he said. “Blueberries also have a longer shelf life, which significantly reduces the risk of food waste. Or their CRISPR-edited new potatoes with a tufted tuber architecture, concentrating the same amount of production on about one-third of the previously required land area.

“But if these precision breeding innovations were introduced today, the reality is that they would still be regulated as GMOs because the necessary implementing legislation has not yet been put in place.

“It is therefore imperative and a priority that the next administration brings forward the necessary secondary legislation as quickly as possible, paving the way for England to be a leader in sustainable farming innovation.

“These techniques can provide faster access to genetic improvements, giving our farmers the tools they need to be more resilient to climate change, increasing productivity while reducing inputs, and at the same time providing new solutions for safer, healthier diets and reducing food waste.

“I strongly encourage crop scientists, farmers, plant breeders, ecologists and anyone interested in facilitating the use of these exciting new technologies to raise this issue clearly and unequivocally with ministers and their elected representatives in the next administration.

“The sooner secondary legislation is introduced, the sooner these innovations will be available on farms and bring tangible benefits to producers, consumers and the environment,” Caccamo concluded.