SA Crops: South Australian grain growers get green light for GM crops

It was a ‘historic day’ for the SA grains industry on Monday. Here’s why.

GROWERS CHOICE: Grain Producers South Australia chairman Adrian McCabe says South Australian growers finally have certainty in planning their crop rotations as they head into the 2021 season.

THE grains industry has welcomed news that growers across South Australia now have the choice to grow genetically modified crops.

And growers can now plan their crop rotations in time for the 2021 season.

It comes after the South Australian Government lifted a 16-year ban on growing GM crops back in May, and gave individual councils the choice to decide whether to keep the ban in place or not.

South Australia’s Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, David Basham, this week announced that none of the 11 councils provided sufficient evidence to ban GM crops in their areas and Kangaroo Island would be the only region where GM crops are banned.

Grain Producers South Australia chairman Adrian McCabe labelled it a “historic day” for the state’s grain industry.

“As a grower, I am very excited about this decision because after 16 long years we can now aspire to be on a level playing field with our mainland interstate counterparts,” he said.

“South Australian growers finally have certainty in planning their crop rotations as we head into the 2021 season with optimism.”

Mr McCabe said GPSA would be taking a leading role in the responsible adoption of new crop varieties within South Australia’s farming systems.

“We are backing the state’s grain industry to manage the transition out of the moratorium in a sensible manner and look forward to growers finally being able to make their own choices about which crops they want to grow,” he said.

Australian Seed Federation chief executive Osman Mewett commended Mr Basham for putting “science before rhetoric”.

“For too long, South Australian farmers have been denied the ability to choose from the full suite of tools that have been available to their colleagues in neighbouring states,” he said. “They have been farming with one hand tied behind their back.”

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