On January 21, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new Food Security Doctrine for Russia to replace the Doctrine adopted in 2010. The revised Doctrine names prevention of genetically engineered seed imports for planting as one of the Russian national interests in the sphere of food security and expands the list of self-sufficiency indicators to include: vegetables, melons and gourds, fruit and berries, and seeds. The Government has been instructed to develop and approve a roadmap for implementing the provisions within three months.
According to the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, the emergence of new risks and threats to food security associated with economic sanctions, Russia’s accession to the WTO and enhanced integration processes within the Eurasian Economic Union prompted the revision of the Doctrine.
The new section of the Doctrine devoted to national interests related to food security aims to prevent the import and distribution of genetically modified organisms for planting, and prohibits raising and breeding animals whose genetic code has been engineered or that carry genetic material of artificial origin as key provisions. The only exception to the ban is the import and sowing of genetically modified organisms for examination and research purposes, as well as the growing of such plants and breeding of such animals for examination and research purposes, according to the Doctrine.
