GM crops cannot alone solve world hunger, but they can certainly help. Applied properly, they will have an enormous positive impact on world food production by increasing agricultural productivity. In March 2009 the United Nations announced that the world’s population would reach 7 billion in 2010 and top 9 billion by 2050. We are already failing to feed a significant proportion of the world’s population and tonight roughly one billion people will go to bed hungry.

Somehow over the next 25-50 years, we will need to double food production on decreasing amounts of available arable land. GM crops can make a significant contribution by increasing productivity and thereby helping to stabilise food prices.

Developing countries are increasingly using GM technology with excellent results. Of the over 13.3 million farmers growing biotech globally, 90% are resource-poor and from developing countries. The increase in income from these crops combined with the reduced time spent on controlling pests and weeds contributes significantly to the alleviation of poverty for these farmers their families and their communities.

If you knew that…

• In many areas of the world, water is the biggest limiting factor in agriculture production and without adequate supply of water crop yields are severely compromised. Field trials have shown that drought-tolerant crops can yield up to 20% more than their non-GM counterparts in harsh conditions.
• The use of GM crops can increase yields by 6-30% on the same amount of land.
• Over 13 million farmers cultivating GM crops in 2009 worldwide were resource-poor farmers in developing countries.
• The use of GM crops can mitigate the impact of climate change by enabling farmers to grow more food, more reliably, in harsher climatic conditions.
• GM crops can help meet the Millennium Development Goals on reducing poverty.

…would you give Europeans the choice to buy and grow GM crops? Support free choice.

Farmers and exporters around the globe deserve to have fair and consistent rules for trade. The EU should nurture and promote coherent pro-growth and pro-development policies that do not discriminate against technology.

GM crops ensure higher yields and more reliable agricultural production. By holding Europe back, we risk holding back developing countries also. Europe should have the choice to embrace agricultural innovation and fully engage with the developing world.