Some 60% of potato farmers in Ireland would grow a genetically-modified potato if it made business sense. However, it is not clear how many consumers would buy such a potato.
Speaking at a Teagasc research insights webinar entitled Making the Most of our Land, the head of crops research at Teagasc Oak Park, Ewen Mullins, noted: “There has to be a balanced discussion around challenges we face. If we’re going to reduce our pesticide and fungicide use can we explore the use of alternative technologies to get there?”
He also commented that potato growers are open to using new technologies in order to reduce the number of times that they need to spray their crops and, in turn, reduce costs and improve margins. Mullins added that Irish weather patterns are also making it more difficult to control disease as the windows of opportunity to apply fungicides are becoming narrower.
EU regulation
The researcher’s comments on exploring new technologies come as a review is currently under way on the decision of the European Court of Justice to regulate gene-edited crops in the same way as genetically-modified crops.
“The context of this is really the challenges we face in the next 10 years. If we’re going to obtain the Farm to Fork goals we have to have a serious conversation and we have to examine carefully the potential of breeding techniques.”
The European Commission’s Farm to Fork Strategy aims to reduce pesticide use in the EU by 50% 2030.
Read more
Commission suggestions for countries’ CAP plans due at Christmas
Reducing fertiliser use could cut dairy profits by 10%
DG Sante to address Farm to Fork's vision of sustainable diets
Some 60% of potato farmers in Ireland would grow a genetically-modified potato if it made business sense. However, it is not clear how many consumers would buy such a potato.
Speaking at a Teagasc research insights webinar entitled Making the Most of our Land, the head of crops research at Teagasc Oak Park, Ewen Mullins, noted: “There has to be a balanced discussion around challenges we face. If we’re going to reduce our pesticide and fungicide use can we explore the use of alternative technologies to get there?”
He also commented that potato growers are open to using new technologies in order to reduce the number of times that they need to spray their crops and, in turn, reduce costs and improve margins. Mullins added that Irish weather patterns are also making it more difficult to control disease as the windows of opportunity to apply fungicides are becoming narrower.
EU regulation
The researcher’s comments on exploring new technologies come as a review is currently under way on the decision of the European Court of Justice to regulate gene-edited crops in the same way as genetically-modified crops.
“The context of this is really the challenges we face in the next 10 years. If we’re going to obtain the Farm to Fork goals we have to have a serious conversation and we have to examine carefully the potential of breeding techniques.”
The European Commission’s Farm to Fork Strategy aims to reduce pesticide use in the EU by 50% 2030.
Read more
Commission suggestions for countries’ CAP plans due at Christmas
Reducing fertiliser use could cut dairy profits by 10%
DG Sante to address Farm to Fork's vision of sustainable diets
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: