Thailand has approved Genome Editing (GEd) technology for advanced plant breeding to increase yields while using fewer chemicals in the farming industry, according to the Department of Agriculture.
DoA chief Rapeepat Chansriwong on [July 15] said that the announcement to legalise a GEd technique under a ministerial regulation was approved by the agriculture minister and published in the Royal Gazette.
He said that GEd plants are not genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GEd has been approved in many countries, such as Canada, the United States, Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia, the Philippines and more, he said.
He said he was confident that GEd would help upgrade the country’s competency in plant breeding, which could increase farmers’ income three-fold within four years.
Moreover, the country will be a hub for GEd technology, he said. The method is expected to apply to animals as well, he said.
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“It will help elevate the country’s farming knowledge until the country can become the world’s food hub,” Mr Rapeepat said, adding that maize, soybean, and sugar cane will be among the country’s first piloted economic plants using GEd technology.
