The NFU has backed calls made by an influential group of MPs for the government to give British farmers access to gene-editing technology.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) said the proposed Agriculture Bill amendment would pave the way for the UK to ditch 'damaging' EU rules.
Current regulations block access to precision breeding tools, such as CRISPR-Cas9.
But this cutting-edge technique is seen as vital to UK farming groups for agricultural improvement at both home and overseas.
The group, chaired by York Outer MP Julian Sturdy, has written to Defra Secretary George Eustice urging the government to introduce an enabling amendment during the Lords stages of the Bill.
The proposed amendment would provide new powers for ministers to consult on and make changes to the UK Environmental Protection Act.
This would give Britain’s scientists, farmers and breeders the same access to new gene editing technologies as their counterparts around the world.
NFU vice president Tom Bradshaw said the amendment was an opportunity for the UK farming industry, one that 'simply cannot be missed'.
"Delivery of the prime minister’s wish to 'liberate the bioscience sector' requires a regulatory system that is fit for purpose," he said.
“The cost of not taking this opportunity is the UK being unable to make use of a set of breeding tools that are already being shown to offer solutions to intractable problems."
He listed such problems as the need to protect plants and animals from disease and to use fewer resources while maintaining or increasing quality and yield.
"And the need to produce more nutritious and more sustainable food for both domestic and export markets," Mr Bradshaw added.
