VICTORIAN farmers must embrace new technology, including genetically modified crops, to battle the effects of climate change and increased global competition, Premier John Brumby has warned. Speaking at the launch of the Government's $205 million plan to secure the future of farming in the state, Mr Brumby said Victoria's farmers faced increasing competition from countries such as Brazil, Russia and China. The plan, called Future Farming: Productive, Competitive and Sustainable and flagged in yesterday's Age, will spend more than $100 million on developing new farm technology such as crops and grasses resistant to drought, salt and the cold. The strategy, to be funded from next month's state budget, will also include: ? $24 million for weed management, including roadside weeds. ? $11.5 million to help farmers adapt to climate change. ? $12 million to assist farming families, including the previously announced National Centre for Farmer Health. But the Opposition labelled the plan a cynical attempt to buy off country Victorians, while the Victorian Farmers Federation cautiously welcomed it. Launching the farming blueprint at the end of a two-day tour of south-west Victoria, Mr Brumby said the key to farmers competing globally was research and development. And some of that innovation, he said, such as allergy-resistant feed grasses, would involve GM crops in a bid to increase productivity. "Last year, in this (Horsham) region most farmers wouldn't have got through without the new (non-GM) wheat varieties," he said. "The wheat varieties of 30 and 40 years ago wouldn't have got through the system and they wouldn't have got any crop at all." While forecasting increased competition for land, Mr Brumby said there would be no need for farmers in any part of the state to walk away from their properties. The farm strategy, promised by the Premier late last year, also includes $43 million for upgrades to Victoria's regional rail freight network announced this week. But acting Opposition Leader Peter Ryan dismissed the package as "a grab bag of announcements made previously, combined with ambiguous commitments". "John Brumby has identified a series of spot fires in country Victoria and he's running around trying to put them out with bucket loads of money," he said. "But country people will not be satisfied by Mr Brumby's 30 pieces of silver. If he thinks he can buy them off in this way, he is wrong." Mr Ryan said the $20 million over four years allocated to control of roadside weeds amounted to just $100 a kilometre. Mr Ryan also said the $42 million promised for rail freight upgrades fell far short of the $140 million recommended last year by former federal Nationals leader Tim Fischer. Victorian Farmers Federation president Simon Ramsay said the Government's priorities in the plan, such as investment in research to deal with climate change, were in the right areas. "It's all about helping farmers adjusting to the future of farming, and the more tools they have to prepare the better," he said. Mr Ramsay said the rail freight funding was welcome, but it would not fix all the problems with the rundown network and put trains onto the tracks. With PAUL AUSTIN