WA farmers establish GMO policy

The Western Australian Farmers Federation (WA Farmers) has released its policy on genetically modified organisms.

The policy followed a workshop on GMOs held on April 5, facilitated by Agrifood Awareness Australia.

"We workshopped the policy with a cross representation of members from zone councils and commodities sections," said WA Farmers president Colin Nicholl.

He explained that while there was a very broad spectrum of within the organisation, it was able to come up with a policy that reflected those views.

Nicholl said that WA was probably 18 months away from having its first commercial release of GM crops.

"Canola looks like it will be the first crop to be made available for commercial release in WA," he said.

According to Nicholl, canola has a weed problem and farmers have been concerned about the possibility of developing superweeds. He said that GMO trials needed to be conducted in an open process.

"We have supported very strongly the regulatory role of the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR), and we would like to see it maintain that role in the future," he said.

Nicholl said that farmers' concerns mostly centred on the effect of genetic modification on food, and the fear of price depression due to overproduction.

He also said there were fears that the owners of the GMO technology would control the market. Nicholl said it was important to find another mechanism for returning a profit to farmers.

"We want to ensure that this technology is evenly shared between the owners of the technology and the farmers who grow it," he said.

The policy's key resolutions were that WA Farmers:

• Supports ongoing biotechnology and gene technology research and the commercialisation of products in a continuously monitored, responsible, regulated, transparent and well-managed supply chain.
• Respects the rights of all WA farmers to select the production method best suited to individual farming systems - conventional, organic or genetically modified.
• Supports the OGTR's regulatory process and the ongoing assessment and review of GM products on a case-by-case basis in terms of food safety, protection of existing systems, production efficiencies, consumer acceptance and market demands.