DESPITE the expected drop in canola plantings this season, there has been an increase in sales of Roundup Ready canola seed in Australia.
For 2015, Monsanto Australia managing director Daniel Kruithoff said Australian farmers purchased a record one million tonnes (mt) of RR canola seed - up 15 per cent on last season.
"More than 436,000 hectares of GM canola will be planted this year - up from nearly 350,000ha last year," he said.
Mr Kruithoff said GM canola varieties now made up 22pc of the canola planted in the states that allow GM canola to be grown – WA, Vic and NSW.
“The strong increase in the area planted to Roundup Ready canola varieties clearly demonstrates the ongoing value growers see in the technology," he said.
“Growers are turning to Roundup Ready canola to improve their yields through high performing GM varieties.
“Australian growers are facing strong competition in key markets such as China and Japan which last year imported $4b worth of canola, most of it GM, from Canada."
The share of Roundup Ready canola planted this season rose in every state reaching 30pc in WA, 13pc in Vic and 11pc in NSW.
The stats follow a report released in February that reinforced the benefits of farmers choosing to use GM crops to reduce pesticide use while increasing yields and profitability.
The report by university researchers from Switzerland was published last month in a peer-reviewed open access journal Agriculture & Food Security.
It provided meta-analysis of articles on GM crops over more than 20 years and found that, on average, production of GM crops reduced chemical pesticide input by 37pc, increased crop yields by 22pc and increased farmers’ profits by 68pc.
“These numbers are significant and compelling considering that the accumulated land area planted with GM crops during the last 18 years represents an agricultural production area of more than 150pc of the size of countries such as the USA or China,” it said.
“The positive impact of GM crop adoption on yield is especially encouraging because this means that GM crops can produce more on less land.
“In summary, the aggregate literature reveals conclusively that there are considerable benefits of GM crop adoption for both the environment and for the economic well-being of farmers - facts that are often misrepresented in the public debate.”
However, despite the reports into GM efficacy, anti-GM groups continue pushing for the retention of legislation in WA that could potentially be used to restrict the technology’s uptake.
Shirley Collins from FOODwatch said WA Agriculture and Food Minister Ken Baston had “completely thrown caution to the wind” by announcing his intention to repeal the GM Crops Free Areas Act 2003.
But she welcomed a recent move by WA Greens Senator Rachel Siewert to pursue a federal Bill for a “GM contamination insurance scheme funded by GM crop levies”.
However, the grains council leaders of WA’s two key farm lobby groups agree the Act should be repealed for fear it could be used to stifle farmer choice, in the event of a future change of government.
