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 Victoria forms alliance with Dow AgroSciences for crop innovation 

Victoria forms alliance with Dow AgroSciences for crop innovation

22 May, 2009 11:41 AM
A new research partnership between the Victoria Government and Dow AgroSciences will allow scientists in Australia and the United States to work together to develop new plant traits and plant varieties for Victorian and international farmers.

The agreement - which establishes a significant, collaborative research and development effort between the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Co. - is the largest international agricultural biotechnology alliance undertaken by the Victorian government to date.

"This joint research and development effort will accelerate the creation of unique solutions," Victoria Minister for Innovation Gavin Jennings said.

"We are committed to driving world-leading innovation in science, technology and practice to enable farmers to respond to pressures such as climate change and to maintain a sustainable agriculture industry for the benefit of all Victorians."

Mr Jennings joined Dow AgroSciences president and chief executive officer Jerome Peribere, and vice president for research and development Dr Daniel R. Kittle at the BIO2009 conference to sign the agreement.

"Victoria is clearly establishing itself as a global leader in agricultural biotechnology, and Dow AgroSciences is pleased to set up this unique collaboration with DPI's capabilities based at the Victorian AgriBiosciences Centre in which technologies and scientific expertise will be shared to deliver plant-based solutions that contribute to improving the quality of life for the world's growing population," Dr Kittle said.

"One of the key crops will include canola, which is the third-largest crop in Australia and will further enhance Dow AgroSciences' omega-9 canola oil platform. Other crops targeted in this large-scale research partnership between DPI and Dow AgroSciences will include traits for corn and wheat, as well as bioenergy crops."

Professor German Spangenberg, Victorian DPI's executive director of biosciences research who will lead the research and development efforts in Victoria, said the initial research projects would "focus on the development of agronomically important technologies that will improve yields in crops to meet growing global demands for food, feed and energy".

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This will be a total waste of time, effort, resources and money if the focus is on GM.
Posted by ggwagga, 22/05/2009 1:37:06 PM
Good to see that government and biotech corps are looking after each other. How else can you waste as much scarce public money in such a quick and calculated fashion as with GM crops?
Posted by brett sanders, 23/05/2009 12:18:00 AM
German Spangenberg again misrepresents the potential of GM to increase crop yields. But the Union of Concerned Scientists comprehensively analysed GM soy, corn, canola and cotton performance since the crops were commercialised in 1996. The report concludes that, with one minor exception, GM crops generally yield less than the best conventional varieties and that conventional breeding has contributed much more to crop productivity gains than GM. Visit: http://ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/s cience/failure-to-yield.html to download the report and commentary on it.

Jennings deal with Dow is another sellout of Victorian farmers who want to participate in allocating scarce research and development resources to meet the real needs of growers and shoppers. The Brumby government's deal with Dow is more publicly funded research for private profit.

Posted by Bob Phelps, 25/05/2009 12:30:40 PM
I am disgusted with the Vic Govt. I am an organic grower who moved here because the moratorium was in place! Using taxpayers dollars to finance multi-billionaire companies is beyond wrong! No GM Crop other than cotton has ever done what was boasted. Corn only in years af severe attack. And animals eating the stubble died! Dow-Pioneer hi-fert just got approval for a 2x modified soy to be used in our FOOD! Now I know how they got an easy approval. Cargill bought out a Vic grain co-op, now no segregation applies! Wake up before they own you all! Pesticide reduction claims are FALSE, see their sales figures, someone's telling porkies!!
Posted by amicus curiae, 25/05/2009 3:56:57 PM
The vast majority of consumers do not want GM and this means the vast majority of taxpayers that this Victorian Government is ripping off for their "boys club" of GM companies. A disgrace and an injustice of our rights. This government is biased towards GM and cannot see that this product is not the bees knees. It does not improve yield, it has not been tested for health issues including allergies and long term health studies. It does not help the farmer and no currently available transgenic varieties enhance the intrinsic yield of any crops and yet I, as a taxpayer, have to pay for our government to throw money at this GM research that is not profitable to anyone except the GM companies themselves. I will not be voting for them next year and neither will the consumers that are outraged at this stupidity.
Posted by Vicki Wilson, 25/05/2009 7:14:47 PM
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine called this month for a moratorium on the release of GM food because they said a direct link had been established between GM food and adverse effects on the bodies of animals. Who wants to eat this stuff that they won't allow to be independently tested or labelled? The Victorian government wants to make money at the cost of community health - and of farmers losing independence.
Posted by alison, 25/05/2009 8:39:02 PM
Brumby Government does it again. Now it's Gavin Jennings, the "Minister for Short Sightedness", who plans our "sustainable" agricultural future by partnering a biotech company to ensure our farmers can respond to pressures such as climate change! His gross ignorance and lack of integrity are evident as he claims maintaining a "sustainable agriculture industry for the benefit of all Victorians".
Posted by Farming Secrets, 25/05/2009 10:12:21 PM
The biotech companies have been promising many advantages to their GM plants for 30 years BUT they have been empty promises. There's still only 2 traits, BT and RR. Billions of dollars a year of public money in Canada, the US and Australia are spent on promoting this stuff which in actual fact is a spectacular flop.
Posted by Stew, 26/05/2009 6:27:40 PM
Aspartame, DDT, Agent Orange, Sachrine, Round-Up, Smartstacks, Cry9c. GMO fast food. Is it worth the risk?
Posted by arthure rubum, 16/08/2009 4:52:19 PM, on Stock & Land

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