THE Office of the Gene Technology Regulator has issued a licence to the Queensland University of Technology authorising the limited and controlled release in field trials of chickpea genetically modified (GM) for drought and other environmental stress tolerance.

The Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan (RARMP) and the licence were finalised taking into account input received during consultation with the public, State and Territory governments, Australian Government agencies, the Minister for the Environment, the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee and the local council.

The finalised RARMP concludes that this field trial poses negligible risks to the health and safety of people and the environment, thus it does not require specific risk treatment measures.

However, licence conditions have been imposed to limit the size, location and duration of the release and to restrict spread and persistence of the GMOs and their genetic material in the environment, as these were important considerations for the RARMP.

Source: OGTR

The finalised RARMP, a summary of the RARMP, the licence and Questions and Answers about this decision can be obtained here.