The French government on Wednesday adopted a bill in line with EU rules on crop trials and genetically modified organisms (GMO) cultivation, despite opposition from ecologists.

"We decided not to close the door (to GMO technologies), while keeping a close watch on what is done," French junior research minister Francois Goulard said.

Under the bill, French farmers would have to officially register any plantation of modified crops, filling a legal void that allowed 1,000 hectares of GMO maize to be grown undeclared last year, out of 90 million hectares grown worldwide.

The French government hoped the law bill could be passed by the end of the year by the French parliament, which is to start debating the bill by next month.

Polls showed that sixty percent of the French are hostile to GMO crops and that 78 percent would back a temporary moratorium until their impact on health and the environment is fully explained.

Environmentalists though say that not enough time has elapsed to assess the long-term impacts of GM crops. Scientists worry that the inserted genes in GM crops contaminate other species through wind-borne pollen.

Source: Xinhua