Italian government split over biotech cultivation policy.(REGULATORY WATCH)

A split on biotech policy emerged last month in Italy, one of the most fervent critics of transgenic crops in the European Union.

Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo made clear her support for a scientific and "non-ideological" approach to biotech, only days after a decree to ban cultivation of transgenic crops was signed by outgoing Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia. Zaia was expected to resign from his post after being elected governor of the Venice region in last month's regional elections.

Speaking at a conference hosted by Italian farm lobby Confagricoltura, Prestigiacomo declared, "We need to deepen the topic of biotechnology without an ideological …