Farmers’ groups demand GM access

Farmers in five nations have asked for better access to genetically modified crops, demanding that the EU ease restrictions on GM cultivation.

Farming groups from France, Romania, Portugal, Spain, and Italy signed an open letter from the Public Research and Regulation Initiative, expressing “deep concern” over the effects of EU regulation on the sustainable production of food through biotechnological means.

The letter calls for more access to crop varieties for European farmers in order to reduce dependency on imports, and argues that the restrictions placed on EU farmers is resulting in a “loss of income for farmers to, for example, reduce the use of pesticides.”