Exciting innovations in salt-tolerant cropping techniques have been reported from Hainan University in China, ACT MP
Gerry Eckhoff said today.
"If peer review confirms their work on irrigating crops with salt water, this work will represent at hugely significant
advance in agriculture.
"Reports say that Chinese scientists using the 'pollen tube' method have transferred salt tolerance genes from mangrove
into tomatoes, eggplant and hot peppers. Yields are equivalent to conventionally grown crops. Wheat, rice and rape
varieties are still under development.
"There is new hope for Third World countries in these developments. Marginal lands can be brought into production and at
the same time pressure for forest, clearance can be relieved. Under utilised land in coastal China could feed 150
million people using these methods. This is good news for the environment and for those at the bottom of the
socio-economic scale especially those in developing countries.
"At the same time China's success is a warning for New Zealand. We cannot afford to hesitate while the rest of the world
leaps ahead on an exponential curve of new knowledge. Rather than worry about the inevitable atmospheric change we
should concern ourselves more with the need for a stimulating intellectual climate. Nobel Laureate Alan MacDairmid
argued recently that agriculture is the future for New Zealand. Developments of the kind reported from China may benefit
the rest of the world but our unique comparative advantage may be quickly eroded unless we apply ourselves with equal
energy to the knowledge economy.
"The eco-fundamentalists of the "green" lobby must not be allowed to block New Zealand's participation in the
challenging but highly rewarding field of biotechnology," Mr Eckhoff said.
For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at
act@parliament.govt.nz.