The UK Government has this week published the secondary legislation needed to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023. NIAB chief executive Professor Mario Caccamo believes this is a truly historic moment for plant science - the first time in more than 30 years that new legislation has been brought forward in this country which seeks to enable, rather than to further restrict, the use of genetic innovation in agriculture. There are exciting opportunities ahead to democratise the process of crop research and innovation, and to deliver benefits for the food chain, consumers and the environment. With the Precision Breeding Act in place and in force, let’s seize them with both hands, he urges.

 

Coming soon to England’s fields and glasshouses?

 

• Five times higher yielding strawberries with longer shelf life.

• Baby potatoes with bunched tubers requiring two thirds less farmland.

• Tomatoes bred for robotic harvesting to reduce labour requirements.

• Oilseed crops containing healthier Omega-3 oils.   

• Pro-vitamin D3 enriched tomatoes.

• Disease resistant, non-browning potatoes.

• Sugar beet with resistance to virus yellows disease.

• High lipid barley to reduce methane emissions in livestock. 

 

The UK Government has this week published the secondary legislation needed to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023. 

 

It has taken two years since the primary legislation was passed in March 2023, as its progress was interrupted by a General Election and a change of Government from Conservative to Labour. This does, however, provide affirmation of strong, cross-party support for the regulatory changes involved.

 

If approved over the coming weeks by both Houses of Parliament, these new rules will free up the commercial use of new precision breeding techniques, such as gene editing, to develop improved varieties of crops in England. The first applications are expected to be submitted from autumn 2025. 

 

This is a truly historic development for plant science, and for the food chain, consumers and the environment in England. It is the first time in more than 30 years that new legislation has been brought forward in this country which seeks to enable, rather than to further restrict, the use of genetic innovation in agriculture. 

  

Thanks to advances in our understanding of plant genetics, these techniques will allow plant scientists and breeders to identify and select for specific traits of interest with much greater precision, and without the need for lengthy backcrossing to remove unwanted characteristics. 

 

The scientific evidence is clear that precision bred crops pose no greater risks to food safety or the environment than equivalent conventionally bred crops.

 

And, as the above examples of precision bred crops in the pipeline demonstrate, making these tools more readily available will accelerate the development of higher-yielding crop varieties with greater climate resilience, more durable disease resistance, reduced environmental impact, and with improved end-use quality and nutritional properties.

 

It will also align our rules with other progressive agricultural economies around the world, including Australia, Canada, Japan, USA, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. New Zealand is following suit, and a number of African countries are also taking similar steps as gene editing has great potential to alleviate food insecurity.  

  

There are clear indications that these technologies, and their potential applications, enjoy public support on a global basis, particularly in tackling the causes and effects of climate change. A recent Ipsos poll of more than 13,000 people in 13 different countries, commissioned by Leaps by Bayer in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, found that, globally, 56% support New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in agriculture, especially to develop more climate resilient crops.  

 

The Ipsos survey reported that even in the EU, which has typically been more resistant to such innovations, 47% of people view NGTs positively, 34% are neutral, and just 12% are opposed.

 

The opportunities for Europe of embracing these technologies are strongly reflected in the European Commission’s recent A Vision for Agriculture and Food communication, which states:

 

“Plant breeding innovations, including the use of biotechnological tools such as new genomic techniques, are key to accelerating the development of climate-change resilient, resource-saving, nutritious and high-yielding varieties, and thereby contribute to the EU’s food security and food sovereignty.”    

 

The Commission document also highlights the importance of the EU moving at pace to align its rules with other countries:

 

“To reap the benefits of these innovations, an enabling regulatory framework in the EU is needed. This also ensures a level playing-field with an increasing number of third countries, which are in the process of adapting their legislation or have done so already. It is therefore particularly important to complete the legislative procedure for the Commission’s NGT proposal and to implement the legislation fast. The Commission is committed to working in close cooperation with the Council and the European Parliament to find a forward-looking compromise in the near future.”

 

Recent reports indicate that EU agreement on NGTs may be on the cards following broad support among member states for a compromise text tabled by the Polish presidency. So, it may not be long before the European Union joins England in adopting a more proportionate and enabling approach to the regulation of these technologies.

 

Of course, in England we are a step ahead. In the two years since simpler arrangements were introduced for experimental field trials of precision bred plants, the number of trials notified in England is on a par with trials of gene edited crops across all 27 countries of the EU combined. A challenge for us will be to stay in front of the curve.

 

Developments in the EU will hopefully also be focusing minds among political leaders in Scotland and Wales, whose governments have both opted out of the Precision Breeding Act, indicating instead that they prefer to remain aligned with the EU. Will scientists working at recognised centres of agricultural research excellence in Scotland and Wales also be able to use these vital genetic technologies to benefit their farmers, society and local environment?   

 

Because this is, fundamentally, about democratising science, by ensuring that regulatory oversight of innovative new technologies is genuinely proportionate and fit-for-purpose.

 

That way we can make important genetic advances more accessible, and not the exclusive preserve of a handful of deep-pocketed multinational companies.   

 

There is already evidence to demonstrate that this is what can happen in practice.  

 

The experience in Argentina, for example, shows how the introduction of more proportionate regulation of gene editing techniques can help free up the process of crop research and innovation.

 

A 2020 study by Martin Lema et al, published in the journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, showed that taking gene edited crops out of the scope of high-cost, restrictive GMO rules, instead regulating them in a similar way to conventionally bred varieties, has delivered a research dividend in Argentina, with investment and R&D activity spread across a more diverse range of organisations in both public and private sector. Gene editing applications have also involved a much broader range of crops and traits, compared to GMOs.     

 

Something very similar is happening here. Since simplified field trial arrangements for precision bred plants were introduced in England, a total of 23 notifications have been received, virtually all from public sector researchers, start-ups and SMEs, involving six different crop species, and covering a wide range of applications, from improved crop performance to enhanced food quality and nutrition, and reduced climate and environmental impact.     

 

There are exciting opportunities ahead for crop science in this country. With the Precision Breeding Act in place and in force, let’s seize them with both hands!

 

Professor Mario Caccamo is chief executive of UK crop science organisation NIAB. A computer scientist, he has over 20 years’ experience in life science research and big data, including specific projects to apply the latest DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics methods to advance scientific understanding of crop genetics and the interaction of agricultural crops with their environment.