Gene editing may be a game-changer in improving crop resilience and better than genetic modification

A Mexico-based research centre believes it may have hit the bull’s eye when it comes to using technology to enhance crop resilience. 

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is ramping up investments in a new technology called ‘gene editing’ that can improve resilience in crops such as wheat, maize and millets against drought, floods, and disease.

The centre’s director general, Bram Govaerts, calls gene editing a “future” technology as genetic modification (GM) faces protests by agriculturists and environmentalists.

“We are investing more in gene editing,” Govaerts said, acknowledging that GM or transgenic wheat varieties have failed to achieve commercial success even as such varieties face regulatory and technical challenges.

Unlike traditional genetic modification, gene editing accelerates conventional breeding by making precise changes within the same crop species without inserting foreign genes, said Govaerts, and described transgenics as “a bit of an old technology”.

Also Read: ‘GM farm imports from the US may impact India’s GMO-free image’

“CIMMYT is working on gene-edited wheat. We think that is a technology that can work,” he said, while emphasising that the organisation is committed to operating as an international public goods body that ensures that whatever technologies it develops remain accessible to all countries and farmers.

“For CIMMYT, it is very important that all the different options are available in the public sector as an international public good,” Govaerts said.

While CIMMYT has transgenic technologies in the public domain, they are only deployed when countries request them and regulatory frameworks allow safe implementation.

India, for instance, does not have gene-edited varieties available commercially, although CIMMYT conducts research on its wheat and millet crops, particularly around acidity tolerance. This is in the experimental stages with no commercial release date set.

On gene editing’s advantages, Govaerts explained that the technology stays “within the same crop” and accelerates “normal, traditional breeding processes”, which is why they see “a lot of options and future in gene editing”.

CIMMYT is collaborating with multiple nations to develop appropriate regulatory frameworks while ensuring access to the world’s best gene editing technologies through public-private partnerships.