Thailand has approved Genome Editing (GEd) technology for advanced plant breeding to increase yields while using fewer chemicals in the farming industry, according to the Department of Agriculture.

DoA chief Rapeepat Chansriwong on Monday said that the announcement to legalise a GEd technique under a ministerial regulation was approved by the agriculture minister and published in the Royal Gazette. New policies typically take 30 days to take effect after being published in the Gazette.

He said that GEd techniques can amend or correct gene codes in plants to produce more desirable results. Standards and qualifications have been set by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. GEd plants are not genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GEd has been approved in many countries, such as Canada, the United States, Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia, the Philippines and more. He was confident that GEd would help upgrade the country's competency in plant breeding, which could increase farmers' income three-fold within four years, he said.

Moreover, the country will be a hub for GEd technology, he said. The method is expected to apply to animals as well. "Legalisation will help drive the government's 'Ignite Thailand' policy to make the country an agricultural hub. "It will help elevate the country's farming knowledge until the country can become the world's food hub," Mr Rapeepat said, adding that maize, soybean, and sugar cane will be among the country's first piloted economic plants using GEd technology.