China has approved an increase in funding for genetically modified food crops amidst concerns over its ability to feed its 1.3 billion population.
Image: Corn tassel. Credit: Spedona
Speaking at a meeting of the State Council, Premier Wen Jiabao said the move had been made to make the country's agriculture sector more efficient and competitive internationally.
"Departments must fully understand the importance and urgency of this significant project, further improve the programme and waste no time to carry it out," Wen said in a statement released on the Council's official Web site on Wednesday.
The increased efficiencies are expected to include a concentration on genetically modified food crops such as rice and corn, say experts. Though China is a major producer of genetically modified cotton and vegetables such as capsicums and tomatoes, it has yet to produce GM crops of rice, corn and soybeans on a large scale.
"The approval signalled China is attaching more importance to development of GMOs and has made it a national strategy," commented Huang Dejun, chief analyst with the Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant firm, to AFP.
Chinese news agency Xinhua reported scientists as saying the new measures included a large increase in the research budget aimed at promoting Chinese-grown GM crops.
Reuters reported Lu Baorong, a professor with Fudan University and a member of the country's biosafety committee with the agriculture ministry, as saying there was a "significant growth" in the GM budget with "particularly a large budget was allocated on GMO safety research."
Chinese scientists are quoted as saying the budget ranged from 5 billion yuan to 10 billion yuan ($730.4 million-$1.46 billion).
The move comes as world governments react to rising food prices amidst fears of the ability to feed large populations in the wake of the biofuel boom, which, critics say, has decreased the amount of land available for food production.
"Given the shortage in resources like arable land and water and increasing population, GMO is vital for the country's agriculture output," Huang told AFP.
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