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IRAN – GM RICE COMMERCIALISED
Iran, first to plant GMO rice, hopes to cut imports
21 November, 2005. Source: Reuters
MANILA - Behzad Ghareyazie of the Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, was cited as saying that Iran, which says it was the first country to commercialise genetically modified rice in 2004, hopes to cut its imports of about 1 million tonnes each year by developing higher-yielding varieties, and that the area planted to GMO rice was likely to rise in the next several years after high acceptance among farmers and consumers of the initial variety, adding, "In the near future, we will have better varieties and more higher-yielding varieties."
Ghareyazie was further cited as saying Iranian scientists were conducting more research on other higher-yielding varieties. Iran approved the commercial planting last year of a GMO variety called Tarom molaii, an aromatic rice popular among Iranians but not classified among the higher-yielding varieties.
The Tarom molaii variety yielded an average of 2.2 tonnes per hectare, higher than the 2 tonnes per hectare for a non-GMO counterpart in Iran, Ghareyazie said.
The GMO rice introduced in Iran is resistant to the stem borer pest, the main rice pest in that country which normally infests up to 25 percent of harvest each cropping season.
Greenpeace and other consumer groups are opposing the planting of transgenic crops, specially rice, saying they threaten consumer health and the environment. Scientists said countries in Asia, like China, India and the Philippines that are pursuing research on other GMO varieties, are closely watching developments of the GMO rice in Iran.
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