Do Russia and Eastern Europe need GM plants?

Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are the leading agricultural producers, especially for potato, sugar beet and sunflower. The cumulative effect of adverse climatic conditions, high weediness and losses related to viruses and pests (without any insecticide and herbicide treatments) led to losses amounting to 40-80% of potential production in the Russian Federation and other mentioned countries. We have used new biotechnology methods to obtain several crops (potato, sugar beet, sunflower and others) tolerant to abiotic and biotic stresses. For the first time - on the basis of domestic varieties bred by Russian scientists - GM potato varieties have been obtained, resistant to Colorado beetle. These GM potato varieties were recognised as being as safe as traditional ones and have been registered for food use. Using this technology, new biotechnological sugar beet lines tolerant to herbicides were also obtained.