Melons that last longer without spoiling, cereal varieties that are more resistant to drought or peach and rice trees that are immune to certain fungi. These are some of the new agricultural varieties that researchers at the Center for Agrigenomics Research (Crag) are working on in order to help agriculture face the great challenge of feeding a growing world population without compromising the health of the population. planet.
“It is not about genetic modification or editing techniques, which have very restrictive regulations in the European Union, but about using genomics to accelerate the selection process of those varieties that best adapt to the needs of the agri-food sector” explains Marta Pujol, researcher at the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (Irta) attached to the Crag. This selection of the best seeds, which farmers have carried out since ancient times, thus becomes an efficient and highly professional method, which is carried out in the laboratory.
Due to the great restrictions that exist in the European Union regarding genetic modification, its application in the improvement and selection of new varieties is practically the only current tool that can help European agriculture to face the harsh climatic conditions to which it faces. the field is subdued. It is expected, for example, that the production of olive oil this campaign will be half of the average of the last 15 years, due to heat waves during the flowering and fruit setting period, as well as the drought suffered. during 2022 and part of 2023.
With the double objective of raising awareness of the needs for genetic improvement of crops and of disseminating agrigenomics and its advantages, Pujol leads a project financed by the Generalitat of Catalonia for which he has organized a series of dialogue tables and training talks by the four provinces of Catalonia. “Agrigenomics is well known by large companies in the sector, but not by small and medium-sized farmers, among whom there is still a lot of confusion about the differences between transgenics, genetic editing or genetic selection,” says Pujol. The first of the dialogue tables takes place on September 27.
New genomic techniques were also one of the central topics of the informal meeting held by the Ministers of Agriculture of the European Union between September 3 and 5, in Córdoba. The meeting provided a boost to the legislative proposal on new varieties of plants produced using new genomic techniques, presented by the European Commission on July 5.
The document opens the doors for European farmers to benefit from scientific advances in gene editing. Currently, European legislation considers genetically edited organisms to be legally equivalent to genetically modified organisms (known as transgenic organisms) and very restrictive regulations apply to them. Not so in countries like Japan or the United States.
“Genome editing is a key issue to obtain new plant varieties that help in the challenge of climate change and in the reduction of phytosanitary products and fertilizers. There is consensus on the need to give consumers maximum information and safety in relation to genome editing techniques, with particular reference to organic farming. There is also consensus on the treatment of patents for new varieties" so that access to them "is not beyond the reach of the farmer," declared the acting Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, within the framework of the European meeting.
