Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Monday said that agriculture scientists should be allowed to conduct field trials of genetically modified crops by adopting strict safety measures. In August, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, headed by Basudeb Acharia, had recommended the Government to stop all open-field trials of transgenic crops until it develops a better system of monitoring and oversight. “I am of the considered opinion that the distinction for-GM and anti-GM is unnecessary. We should not analyze the scientific issues on non-scientific parameters.”