Arable farmers 'upbeat about GM crops'

UK arable farmers are generally supportive of GM technology, seeing it as a way of meeting the conflicting demands for cheap food produced in an environmentally friendly way, according to new research by the Open University.

The study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and involved interviews with 30 farmers - mainly those who were involved with the Farm Scale Evaluations of GM crops, plus their near neighbours.

"Both farmers who have been involved in GM crop trials and those who have not, regard GM as a simple extension of previous plant breeding techniques," said an ESRC statement. "They do not think that GM raises any issues of principle."

According to the study, the farmers interviewed believed GM crops were a step forward in helping them become more competitive in world markets.

"Particular advantages of GM crops were more flexible timing, fewer herbicide applications, simpler management and time and labour savings, so improving farm efficiency and hence profitability," it said.

Further, the use of fewer and safer chemicals was seen to provide human safety and wildlife benefits.

But the report has been derided by sustainable farming group FARM, which described the findings as "blatantly pro-GM propaganda".

"The research claims to be representative of UK farmer opinion, but in reality represents the views of just 30 farmers, who were mainly from those who had hosted a FSE trial - hardly a representative sample," said a spokesman.