EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I EUROPEAN SEED I 45 REGULATORY KEEPING YOU INFORMED OF LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY CHANGES IN EUROPE AND ABROAD — FROM LAWSUITS TO APPROVALS TO OTHER REGULATORY ISSUES AFFECTING YOUR BUSINESS. NATIONAL KEEPING NEW VARIETIES UP TO DATE Scientists from more than 85 European resea rch i n st it ut ion s, i nclud i n g Rothamsted Research, have called upon European policy makers to use the most up to date scientific evidence when evaluating the development of new crop varieties. The signatories, including Rothamsted Research Director, Professor Achim Dobermann, argue that the relevant legisla- tion is too stringent and does not reflect the current state of our scientific knowledge. “Organisms created through preci- sion breeding should fall under the same laws that apply to classically bred plant varieties,” he said. Precision breeding uses recently developed, targeted techniques to edit small sections of the existing DNA that underlie very specific plant traits such as drought or disease tolerance. Unlike GM, it does not involve the transfer of genetic material from other species. Dobermann added: “Over the course of the coming generation, the world’s pop- ulation will increase by twenty five per- cent. Add in political uncertainty, climate change, less land available for farming, and declining natural resources, and it will be a huge challenge to feed these two billion extra mouths. “Precision breeding will open the door to the development of higher yield- ing, more nutritious, more resilient crops. Science needs every possible tool in its toolbox if it is to create specially tailored crops that produce more food from less land and do so in the face of increased drought and diseases. Too stringent European regulations will essentially halt scientific progress in this area. That’s why I have endorsed this appeal to safeguard innovative plant breeding techniques from outdated and uninformed decision making.” INTERNATIONAL KENYA COTTON FARMERS GET A PRESIDENTIAL NOD TO GROW GENETICALLY MODIFIED COTTON Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered several ministries to explore the possi- bilities of introducing cotton genetically engineered with a soil borne bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis, or simply Bt in order to raise the fortune of the crop. “Cotton farming was once a major source of income and livelihood for many people in this (western) region,” the president observed. “As such, I have instructed the Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Trade, Industry and Cooperatives to work together and come up with a quick mechanism to revive the production of cotton – including the pos- sibility of farming BT cotton.” Trials for the growth and introduc- tion of Bt Cotton has been ongoing in Kenya for a while but has not been fully commercialized as different ideologies on the safety of the GM cotton has hindered the expansion. Despite the country having a Biotechnology policy as well as a Biosafety Act, there has been a slow uptake of the technology which incidentally farmers have been demanding. BT cotton is resistant to bollworm pests and can up farmers’ production eight times from the current yields of 30,000 to 240,000 bales a year which is much more as compared to over 70,000 bales produced in 1985 when the sector was thriving. CONSULTATION ON PLANT VARIETY ROYALTY OPTIONS STARTING SOON IN NIGERIA Stakeholders in the agricultural sectors have reviewed and validated Plant Variety Protection (PVP), laws targeted at the protection of Plant Breeders Right (PBR). The Director General, National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), Dr. Philip Ojo, during a meeting organised said the meeting was organised because the council discovered that there is the need to bring up a law that would pro- tect the property right of breeders since there was no existing law that could pro- tect the intellectual property of breeders in Nigeria. According Dr. Philip “A nation’s agricultural sector can only advance when farmers of the country have access to available crop varieties that can give the best yield and resist/tolerant various stresses that confront agricultural plants on the field today. “It suffices to say therefore that a country’s agricultural system can only advance, as far as its system of breed- ing which churn out the best genetics to its farmers permit. When farmers have access to highly efficient varieties, they will enjoy bumper harvest and have higher economic returns from their little effort because of the use of high yielding and stress tolerant varieties. “We in NASC believe that a strong PVP system is one vehicle that can help the NASC achieve its vision of creating a Seed system in Nigeria that is market driven capable of producing and distrib- uting high quality and improved planting materials that are available, accessible and affordable to all farmers.”