Rabobank flags increase in GE adoption globally

And the report suggests within the next decade over half the world's crop plantings will be GE.

"GE technology has the potential to solve issues across the food supply chain for all stakeholders," said farm inputs analyst at Rabobank Chia-Kai Kang.

"It can increase crop productivity without expanding farmland area, reduce food waste, reduce harmful substances in food, and reduce pesticide use, among other things," Ms Kang said.

"The GE technology has put the seed industry in the sweet spot in the middle of the changeover in crop production methods."

She said although the exact timeline for the adoption of GE seeds was hard to estimate, it was expected that adoption rates will surpass 50 per cent within five to ten years.

According to Ms Kang, there were five key factors that determined if a GE crop would be successful and thus widely adopted.

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"We look at product performance, such as quality, yield, and consistency in performance."

"On the negative side there is also the issue of possible long-term risks, such as allergic and toxic reactions and potential disruption to trade flows due to export bans on GE crops.

"The marketing power, selling strategy, and distribution network of the input company is important and finally grower access to technology."

The number of GE crops with specific environmental adaptability traits is growing, such as corn with heat stress tolerance and rice with flooding tolerance, while there have also been advances in quality improvements, such as soybeans and canola with better oil quality profiles.

"GE traits can benefit the entire food supply chain, directly impacting farmers and farm input companies, but also the grain and oilseed industry and consumers," Ms Kang said.

The US has been the frontrunner in terms of GE applications, as it was with the first wave of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) back in the 1990s.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), 169 applications for GE products were submitted in the US from 2011 to 2020.

These applications covered a wide range of plants, including some that are for human consumption, feed, industrial uses, as well as microorganisms for industry.

Ms Kang said some of these applications are expected to be commercialised soon, such as fungus resistant canola and soybean cyst nematode resistant soybeans.

She said regulatory frameworks, and whether the more precise GE technology, which can feature no foreign genetic material, would be regulated under the same rules as GM, would play a big role in uptake.

At present she said the EU retained a hard line against GE, as well as GM, food crops, but in other places GE breeding was classed as conventional, meaning seed breeders could conduct trials much more easily.