CHINA is poised to start growing genetically modified rice commercially after the success of its first field trials.

Studies of two GM rice varieties have shown that the insect-resistant crops either improve yields or leave them unaffected while cutting pesticide use, with important benefits for the health of farmers.

China has long embraced biotechnology and has been growing GM cotton commercially for years, but it has been waiting for the results of exhaustive trials before allowing the planting of food crops such as rice. The findings, which are published today in the journal Science, clear the way for commercial growing of GM rice in the world’s largest market for the crop.

A team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the US National Science Foundation examined two varieties of rice, Xianyou 63 and Youming 86, each of which has been genetically engineered to resist insects. Xianyou 63 carries a gene for producing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a natural pesticide commonly used by organic farmers, while Youming 86 has an insect-resistance gene from the cowpea plant.

The study compared farms planting conventional and GM rice over two years. In 2002, 40 farmers grew one of the GM varieties and 37 sowed conventional crops; the following year 69 farmers planted GM and 32 a non-GM equivalent.

The researchers, led by Carl Pray, of Rutgers University in New Jersey, found that GM farmers sprayed their crops with pesticide fewer than once per season on average, compared with 3.7 times for conventional rice. The quantity and cost of pesticide per hectare used was between eight and ten times higher on the conventional farms.

None of the GM farmers reported any pesticide-induced illnesses, such as headaches, skin irritation or nausea, while 7.7 per cent of the conventional farmers suffered these in 2002 and 11 per cent suffered them in 2003. Yields of the Xianyou 63 variety were 9 per cent higher than conventional rice, while those of Youming 86 were comparable to the non-GM equivalent.

The findings carry particular weight because farmers were not required to subscribe to any particular crop management regime, but were asked simply to spray their crops when they thought that they needed to.

This reflects the conditions under which farmers are likely to use the GM rice if they plant it commercially.

Dr Pray said: “This paper studies two of the four genetically modified varieties that are now in farm-level pre-production trials, the last step before commercialisation.

“Farm surveys of randomly selected farm households that cultivate the insect-resistant GM rice varieties demonstrate that when compared with households cultivating non-GM rice, small and poor farm households benefit from adopting GM rice by both higher crop yields and reduced use of pesticides, which also contributes to the improved health of farmers. This study provides China and other nations with objective, research-based information about whether GM food crops can actually improve farmer welfare.”

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