A letter from industry stakeholders NFU Scotland, Agricultural Industries Confederation, and GB Potatoes to the Scottish Government.  It reads:

Precision breeding (PB) also known as gene editing is one of the key tools [that] will be required by farmers and growers across the globe to meet the challenges of producing food whilst coping with more extreme climatic conditions.  Precision breeding allows plant breeders to rapidly breed new more climate-resilient varieties of key crops, thus improving yield reliability and resource efficiency. In Scotland, we have unique pest and disease pressures arising from our climate, however, we also have … research institutions and plant breeding businesses to help address them.

Precision breeding has the potential to play a key role in contributing to key Scottish Government policies, including reducing emissions from agricultural production, growing the Scottish agricultural economy, and contributing to food security [by] ensuring resilient domestic food and feed supply.

As an industry, we believe that the government cannot afford to ignore the vast potential benefits of this established technology. We should be clear that Precision Breeding is not the same as Genetic Modification, and there are clear differences between the two.

Globally, many nations and trading blocs such as the EU, Canada, USA, Argentina, and Australia either have legislation in place to enable precision breeding or are in the process of doing so. Here in Scotland, our major trading partners in both England and the EU are advancing legislation [that] will enable the production of PB crops. Scotland has a great opportunity to not only benefit from both research and application of precision breeding technologies but also to lead them.

Divergence from our key trading partners and markets is a major concern for our industry. It would create extra cost and friction for our vital agri-food supply chains, given the global nature of these markets. At a time when we continue to experience supply chain disruptions and volatility caused both by weather events and geopolitical instability – we as an industry believe access to precision breeding technology is essential for Scottish Agriculture.

As an industry, we therefore call upon the Scottish Government to establish an independent expert working group to consider the key issues [concerning] Precision Breeding technology. The group should consider the range of issues and evidence covering scientific application, comparing international regulatory developments, trade impacts, cost of enforcing divergent GE policies, impact on agricultural productivity, and impacts on EU alignment. We feel this is the best way of taking into account the range of stakeholders with an interest in this issue, whilst also ensuring that Scotland, and our rural economy, are not left behind in this vital area of innovation.

As an industry, we look forward to having a constructive dialogue with Government on this issue.

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