A meeting of experts on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has resulted in recommendations on methodologies to monitor GM crops.

The recommendations were produced at an expert consultation held from 18-20 January 2005, at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy. Convened in light of the controversy and public concern over GMOs, the consultation aimed to provide clear preliminary guidelines on the most accurate and scientifically-sound approach to monitoring the environmental effects of existing GM crops. The experts recommended that any responsible deployment of GM crops needs to address the whole technology development process, from the pre-release risk assessment to biosafety considerations and post-release monitoring.
The meeting was organized by FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Division with support from the FAO Working Groups on Biodiversity and Biotechnology. While the experts acknowledged that a great deal of data is already available, they agreed that it is important to bring together and coordinate the volume of scattered information, and to identify which information is the most accurate. These data could be used in indicators to measure the effects GM crops have on the environment. A full stakeholder engagement, including farmers, scientists, consumers, civil society and the public and private sector, would be necessary in this regard.
Participants recognized that one of the difficulties in monitoring agriculture is the heterogeneity of farming systems in different regions, and recommended that the objective of environmental monitoring of GM crops should be integrated within processes that address broader goals. The FAO statement on the meeting.