The first experimental rice field obtained with TEAassisted evolution techniques, in Italy, have been completely destroyed by unknown persons. In Mezzana Bigli, in the province of Pavia, near the Cascina Erbatici companythe surveillance camera was tampered with and the protective metal mesh opened, thus allowing access to the field where the experimental plants were cut and uprooted.
The Lombardy Region communicated the incident, underlining that the experiment had been started in collaboration with theUniversity of Milan. “This is not an act of vandalism, but a criminal act that compromises an experiment that we were the first in Italy to start”declared theregional councilor for Agriculture Alessandro Beduschi.
The first experimentation with the TEA in Mezzana Bigli
Lombardy had started the project to evaluate the plant resistance to the fungus responsible for brusone. TEAs, which aim at genetic improvement without being GMOs, make it possible to obtain plants that are more resistant to diseases, reducing the use of pesticides and pesticides and optimizing the use of water.
Beduschi called the act a criminal act which hindered an experiment resulting from a significant political effort and collaboration between the best scientific expertise in the sector. “There are not enough words to condemn the gesture of those who, thinking of destroying a small field of 28 square metres, blocked years of studies that could finally be applied in concrete terms”.
The councilor also announced that complaints will be filed immediately to clarify what happened.
The project, presented by the University of Milan, had received the green light from ISPRA. “We are witnessing a resurgence of obscurantist and anti-scientific violence which, as a state university, we have no intention of tolerating,” he declared. Maria Pia Abbracchiodeputy pro-rector of the University of Milan with responsibility for the coordination and promotion of research.
Abbracchio concluded by stating that this episode “causes a incalculable damage to the entire scientific community“, underlining that “the work of our scientists will resume and continue with even greater conviction and commitment”.
Source: Lombardia Notizie
