A Hong Kong pilot scheme has sought to remove GM papayas with 100 growers taking part in the voluntary initiative, the South China Morning Post reported.

The "No GMO" move builds independently on the city's Genetically Modified Organisms Ordinance, which prevents the release of most GM crops in order to protect biodiversity.

Papayas are exempt from the ordinance due to the perceived difficulty of eradication, however campaigners behind the scheme hope it will be taken into account by authorities when the exemption list goes up for review in 2015.

The story reported more than 1,000 GM papaya plants had been removed from four villages in the New Territories, with the percentage of GM-positive papaya samples dropping 55.2 percentage points to 13.9% in these areas.

"At first, I had reservations about whether to chop down the six or seven papaya trees I had in the farm, and also if it'd be hard to grow," grower Lam Sui-yuen told the publication.

"We recognise that a total removal of GM papayas is impossible, but does that mean there is nothing we can do about it?" grower Yip Tsz-shing asked the publication.

Photo: VasenkaPhotography

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