Report finds Australian canola farmers losing yield

A report showing Australian canola yield has gone backwards has farmers calling for the choice to use genetically modified crops.

The Melbourne University report, Canola and Australian Farming Systems 2003-2007, found that Canadian canola production had increased by 40% since genetic engineering was introduced in 1996; in the same time, Australian yields have gone backwards.

The National Farmers Federation says that Australian farmers should be allowed to choose whether to grow genetically engineered grain crops, where they are losing out on being part of a $157 million wheat and canola industry.

Currently, Australian states impose a moratorium on genetic engineering, said report co-author Rick Roush.