NSW genetically modified crop ban lifted in boost to agriculture sector

Lifting the ban on the use of genetically modified crops is expected to boost the agricultural sector by $4.8 billion over the next ten years.

A statewide ban on the use of genetically modified crops lasting almost two decades will be lifted in a move set to bring a $4.8 billion boost to the agriculture sector over ten years.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall will lift the ban on the use of GM crops when the current moratorium expires on July 1.

The move comes after advice provided to the government found crop production in NSW would grow by nine per cent if GM crops were allowed.

Plant Pathologist at the NSW DPI Sophia Callaghan in a field of corn at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute in Menangle. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Lifting the ban will boost annual increase in crop production from 2024/25 by $580 million – or 9.1 per cent – each year. The total increase over ten years to 2030/21 would be worth $4.8 b.

The GM ban was introduced in 2003 amid concerns of trade implications if genetically modified crops were cultivated in NSW.

But Department of Primary Industries Chief Scientist Philip Wright said those concerns have been allayed. He said farmers will get “substantial benefits” from being allowed to access GM technology.

Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said potential benefits include “everything from drought and disease resistance, to more efficient uptake of soil nutrients, increased yield and better weed control,” Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said.

NSW Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall.

Mr Marshall said GM technology has the potential to remove allergens like gluten from crops, improve taste, or enhance nutritional value.

Lifting the ban brings NSW into line with other jurisdictions around NSW. There is no ban on GM crops in Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, or the Northern Territory. South Australia lifted its ban on GM crops last year.

The decision won’t impact the way new GM technologies are assessed and approved by the Commonwealth government, but it means farmers will more quickly be able to access new innovations.

Lifting the ban on GM crops will allow farmers to more quickly take advantage of research conducted by NSW scientists at sites like the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute in Menangle.

“It’s providing the confidence that if we do work in this area it can flow through to farmers rapidly once it passes through the appropriate human and environmental safety checks,” Department of Primary Industries Chief Scientist Phil Wright told The Daily Telegraph.

He said NSW farmers face “enormous challenges” like drought, and giving them access to GM crops is “really important for their future”.

Originally published as NSW genetically modified crop ban lifted in boost to agriculture sector