The host farmer of Cereals 2025, Andrew Ward, spoke at the event to highlight that work still needs to be done to ensure farmers have access to gene-editing in the near future.

“One of the biggest challenges is that the right parties are listened to,” Ward explained.

“The Government and powers that be are listening to the wrong people. They need to take notice of us farmers in the field and all the challenges with pests, diseases, and the weather associated with growing food.”

The use of gene-editing may also be hampered if Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the EU do not allow gene-editing in the near future. Gene-edited crops for human consumption may not be allowed to be marketed in these countries, and large multi-national companies may not invest in the research and development required if England is the only country where these crops will be grown.

Andrew also says that organic farming needs to be protected from gene-edited crops. “Organics will not feed the world but there is a market there for it. We will need exclusions zones, no-crop areas, and buffer zones. I don’t know at present who needs to be responsible for this, but it needs to be done.”

Finally, the branding of gene-editing was discussed, with the term ‘precision breeding’ now being used due to the incorrect association of gene editing with genetic modification.

“We need to educate and highlight to the public the difference between genetic modification and gene editing. We will not get gene editing accepted without doing this,” Ward added.