By Jodie Thomson
Allowing WA farmers to grow genetically modified canola could unlock a
crop worth an extra $200 million a year, according to an assessment by a
leading academic which increases pressure on the State Government to end its
moratorium on GM crops.
Professor Michael Jones, director of the WA Agricultural Biotechnology
Centre at Murdoch University, said GM canola could deliver a windfall for
growers through boosted yields of up to 20 per cent.

Professor Jones? assessment came as Federal Agriculture Minister Peter
McGauran released a national report outlining the environmental and economic
benefits of the new technology in a move designed to add pressure on State
governments to lift moratoriums on GM crops.

The Bureau of Rural Sciences report examining oilseed crops such as
canola and cotton warned the industry would struggle over the next decade
without production benefits from biotechnology.

Professor Jones said GM canola would increase yield potential by 15 to
20 per cent, adding $200 million a year to the value of WA?s canola crop.

?They would be using more environmentally friendly herbicides and down
the line you would expect oils with improved health properties and you could
also see more efficient use of fertiliser,? he said.

Canola is an oil and fodder crop and can also act as a ?break crop? ?
where it is used in crop rotation systems to help control weeds and plant
diseases.

About 500,000 tonnes of canola is expected to be harvested in WA later
this year, less than 7 per cent of the State?s total predicted grain crop,
which is dominated by wheat and barley.

GM canola has been grown for years by major competitors Canada and the
US and is likely to be the first broadacre GM crop to be grown in the WA
Wheatbelt if the State Government?s moratorium is lifted.

A conventional canola variety is in full flower at Ashley Wiese?s
property south of Narrogin. He expects per hectare returns to be good this
year, a result of booming global prices and above average yields. While the
returns can be strong, it is a relatively expensive and risky crop to grow,
which has led to the State?s production falling in recent years. The offer
of better gross margins was likely to increase canola plantings. Mr Wiese
supports the push by the State?s farm groups for the GM moratorium to be
lifted.

?I think there has been a swing in producer sentiment,? he said. ?In
the early days the big concern was that we would lose markets but I think
consumers have shown us direction in their lack of willingness to pay a
premium for non-GM product.?

An estimated 4.8 million hectares of GM canola, about 5 per cent of
global biotech crop area, was grown last year, mainly in Canada and the US.

Yesterday?s BRS report warned that the failure to adopt the GM
technology could cost the Australian economy $3 billion over the next decade
and the oilseed industry would struggle in coming years without production
benefits associated with GM varieties. WA shadow agriculture minister Gary
Snook yesterday criticised Labor?s ?sit and see? policy.

Agriculture Minister Kim Chance denied there was significant pressure
on the State to lift its moratorium, which is due to be reviewed next year.

?Most of the contact received by this office seeks an extension of the
moratorium,? he said.

GM opponents said the report was a ?rehash? of well-known facts and
figures.

Biological Farmers of Australia spokesman Scott Kinnear said the
promise of improved profits for farmers was unrealistic and Australia was
likely to follow the experience in North America where there were problems
segregating grain or seed.


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