Australia
February 12, 2016
Monsanto Australia’s Managing Director, Daniel Kruithoff, said today that the unfortunate legal dispute between Steve Marsh and Michael Baxter has been difficult for the families and communities involved.
“For all of us involved with Australian agriculture and passionate about our farmers, it has been regrettable to see neighbours and friends end up in court. We hope that disputes like this can be avoided in the future through different farming sectors working closely together along with good crop management practices.
“The High Court’s decision is a chance to move beyond this unfortunate legal dispute. The decision reaffirms a farmer’s right to choose how they grow their crops and that organic, conventional and GM crops can be successfully grown side-by-side in Australia. Local farmers have always relied upon innovation and cooperation to improve their competitiveness and sustainability and we should continue to encourage this.
“Monsanto will continue to work with its customers, farm sector representatives and relevant authorities to ensure that our technology is well managed and can be used alongside other production systems.
“There is every reason to be optimistic about Australian agriculture’s prospects. The different production systems and technology used by our farmers will continue to strengthen our global reputation as producers of high quality, clean and green produce.
“GM crops have been grown in Australia for 20 years and thousands of farmers rely on this technology which also being used by millions of farmers worldwide. Our farmers deserve support to continue to innovate so that they can compete internationally, reduce their environmental footprint and produce high quality food and fibre for consumers,” Daniel said.
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