War forces farmers to think again about GM crops – The Telegraph

Even at the best of times, farming can be a tough business.

Yet as the world grapples with the impacts of Russias invasion of Ukraine, it has actually become pretty frightening times for farmers, says Hertfordshire-based farmer Stephen Roberts.

Food security has been an unfashionable topic for a long time, he adds. But now, we really cannot allow anyone to take their eye off the importance of an island nation being able to feed itself and we need to be looking at any technology that can make us more resource-efficient in farming.

Robotics, says Roberts, is one such technology, or it could be genetic engineering and genetic modification.

British farmers are searching for options to stave off the likelihood of a food crisis which has been exemplified by the Russian presidents invasion of the breadbasket of Europe, such as technology-led solutions including genetic modification (GM).

The latter is an area experts are increasingly pointing to, as the full out over Russias attack on Ukraine filters through. Already the industry was under pressure from labour shortages, after Covid led to hosts of fruit-pickers and butchers leaving Britain.

Roberts farm, which grows cereals and keeps cattle and lamb, has so far avoided the worst of the pain from Putins war - farming organically to reduce reliance on fertilisers such as ammonium nitrate. Yet his peers are struggling.

There's ammonium nitrate nearly tripling in price. Farmers are being quoted prices for diesel which have doubled within the space of 10 days, according to Roberts, with some already pulling back on planting crops such as potatoes to keep costs down.

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War forces farmers to think again about GM crops - The Telegraph