PW-ACTUA HZPC calls on policy-makers to take a decision on the position of new ‘The cost price is threatening to fall out of line and breeding is falling behind due to regulatory measures. If anything, we should look ahead, because the potato is trendy again and the demand is rising throughout the world’, LNCN (Agricultural Commodities Bourse for North and Central Netherlands) Chairman Mark Brantjes tells his Audience at the Potato Workshop day in the Meerpaal in Dronten. To maintain the strong reputation of the Dutch potato sector, ongoing innovation is, therefore, necessary. According to guest speaker HZPC-CEO Gerard Backx, we should not let this disappear from our country. ‘The world needs new breeding methods’, Gerard Backx comes straight to the point. ‘Plant breeding means working for the market, which is a complicated story with the potato. The crop is tetraploid, and the genetics are particularly complex and subsequently hard to control. With new genetic breeding techniques, we’ll be able to move forward faster’, Backx explains. According to the HZPC top man, there’s a world to win on these issues. Selective breeding makes a significant contribution worldwide to increasing the yields of many crops. ‘Sluggish genetic advance will make a crop like the potato less competitive with other food products in the future’, is Backx’s firm belief. Speed up progress To speed up progress, there are currently a few techniques available which HZPC can already apply tomorrow, says Backx. The first one is CRISPR/Cas9. With this technique, it’s possible to deliberately produce a mutation in a plant. According to Backx, this is comparable to what often takes place in nature. ‘Because the potato has many alleles that negatively influence the yield, by eliminating these, we can drastically increase the yield. Another important technique is cisgenesis whereby DNA can be transferred from one plant to another. According to Backx, what happens here is comparable to classic breeding, but very much faster. Improving a plant can be a matter of months instead of the many years of testing with the present methods ‘Cisgenesis has also already proved itself in practice. At Wageningen University, researchers have already successfully built in several Phytophthoraresistant genes into potato varieties’, Backx says. Status confusing It’s currently not yet clear what the status is of these techniques. Backx advocates strongly not to call them genetically modified organism (GMO) techniques. ‘The EU legislation is outdated and has been waiting for new parameters for years’, tells Gerard Backx the farmers during the Potato Workshop day. According to the CEO, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has determined that the Cisgenesis and Zinc Finger techniques have risk profiles that are comparable to classic breeding. ‘The EU legislation is outdated and has been waiting for new parameters for years. The politicians are cautious, but the technical developments are progressing fast. New methods are available but, to be able to use them, we’re entirely dependent on the legislation. We’re waiting for the decisions of the politicians. As HZPC plant breeders, we’re of the opinion that these methods are comparable to already existing breeding techniques that are already authorised. If there are no quick political decisions, we as HZPC will start thinking of transferring our breeding activities to America where new techniques such as CRISPR/ Cas9 are allowed. This is possible because America has a different policy from the EU. The EU, for example, assesses the process, which means they first assess the techniques used and only then do they assess the product and, of course, the environment and the consequences for food and fodder. The USA, however, focuses its assessment first on the product and only then on the process’, Backx explains the situation. Backx warns against a worldwide adverse development in breeding because new techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 cannot be detected in new varieties or parent lines. ‘That’s going to cause difficulties between the EU and American legislation. My 10 Potato World 2017 • number 2 Pagina 9
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