ASSESSING ECOLOGICAL RISKS AND BENEFITS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

Genetically modified (GM) crops and biotechnology are providing new opportunities for increasing crop productivity and tackling agricultureproblems, such as diseases, pests and weeds, abiotic stress and nutritionallimitations of staple food crops. As GM crops are being adopted in variouslocations with different ecosystems, a scientifically based understanding of theenvironmental effects of cultivations of GM crops would assist decision makersworldwide in ensuring environmental safety and sustainability. In this paper arediscussed some of the most important problems related to the GM crops into theenvironment such as: plant protection, hybridisation, ecological effects of HRCs, gene flow, biodiversity, stress, ecological risks (ERA), effects on the soilecosystem etc.