The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator, has approved genetically modified (GM) mustard for commercial cultivation, paving the way for the nation’s first transgenic food crop.

The GEAC stated that the recommendation was valid for four years from the date the approval letter was issued. Further studies and coordinated trials will have to be conducted jointly with the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) within two years, according to the minutes of the GEAC meeting held on October 18, which was released on October 26.

The minutes state that field demonstration studies on the impact of the mustard variety on honey bees and other pollinators should also be carried out after the environmental release by the applicant within two years under the supervision of the ICAR, and a report on this should be submitted to the GEAC.

The GEAC said the commercial use of DMH-11 hybrids will be subject to the Seed Act, 1966, and related rules and regulations.

“If all the steps from here fall in place, then it would mean that farmers can get a hold of GM-based mustard hybrids in the next two years,” Deepak Pental, former vice-chancellor of Delhi University, and one of the main scientists behind DMH-11, told the Business Standard. Delhi University and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) are joint applicants for DMH-11.

DMH-11 has been shown to deliver 30 percent higher yields than existing varieties. The average yield of existing mustard varieties is around 1,000-1,200 kilograms per hectare, while the global average is over 2,000-2,200 kgs.