This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New GM plantings in spring
18/01/2002
The final sites where crops of GM spring-sown oilseed
rape may be sown in Scotland are to be be published
shortly. The final round of autumn plantings will be
announced in late summer.
2002 is the third and final year of plantings under the
UK farm scale evaluation programme of GM crops.
The Executive recognise that many of the public have
concerns about GM crops and consequently, are committed to
openness and transparency on the Farm Scale Evaluation
programme. It is important for the public to be aware of
what is happening in their locality and why.
The FSE programme is studying what effect the way GM
herbicide tolerant crops are grown might have on farmland
wildlife, when compared with growing non-GM crops. The
evaluations are not about crop safety, which has been
assessed carefully by growing research plots of the crop
over a number of years. These evaluations would not be
permitted if it was thought that the crops themselves could
damage our health or environment.
This will be the third year that this particular GM
variety has been grown in Scotland as part of the UK-wide
evaluation programme. Details of the individual sites which
wish to take part in the latest phase of the programme will
be announced shortly. The procedure for identifying
possible trial sites and alerting the public to the
proposals is as follows:
- Site selection takes place independently of
Government. Growers wishing to participate on the
programme firstly register their interest with the seed
company. All sites identified in this way are then
passed to the team of researchers who are conducting
the study.
- If the researchers are satisfied that an individual
site is suitable for this type of research work, they
will add the site to a provisional site list which is
then scrutinised by the body which oversees the
evaluation programme.
- This independent body, the Scientific Steering
Committee, considers the list of all potential sites
and will only endorse those which in its opinion will
provide a sufficient and suitably representative set of
results to meet the objectives of the evaluation
programme. It is important that results are collected
from areas and farm types where the crop might be grown
if it is decided that GM crops have a commercial future
in this country. The SSC will also determine how many
sites are required in each growing round.
- The SSC has been considering the list of possible
sites for spring planting of oilseed rape and it is
expected that details of those sites which meet their
criteria will be passed to the Scottish Executive and
UK Government for approval at the end of this
month.
- Formal notification is not made until the seed
company has confirmed with all the individual growers
volunteering to grow the crop that they remain willing
to be included on the programme.
- As soon as the site information is passed to the
Executive, the precise locations of any proposed
Scottish sites - with six-figure grid references - will
be announced and comments will be invited from
interested parties.
- At the same time the Scottish Executive will write
to a range of interested parties - including local
authorities - to alert them to the proposals.
- These steps are being taken to give local
communities in the vicinity of the sites as much prior
notice as possible and is in addition to the statutory
notification of sites required of the applicant
(Aventis CropScience).
- Public notices will be placed by the applicant in
local newspapers in the area of each proposed site. The
formal notification period required by statute is only
15 days but, in line with recommendations in a report
by a government advisory body (the Agriculture &
Environment Biotechnology Commission), Ministers have
insisted upon an extended period to ensure that people
with an interest are aware of the proposals and have
the opportunity to comment if they wish.
- Farmers participating in the evaluations are
encouraged by the government and the industry to
discuss their cropping plans at the earliest
opportunity with their immediate neighbours. Government
has also encouraged dialogue with local organic growers
and beekeeping organisations to take account of their
interests.
- Upon receipt of the location details of potential
sites, Scottish Ministers will determine whether or not
to grant approval. In doing so, Ministers will take
account of advice from the Scottish Agricultural
Science Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage. They will
also consider any representations submitted by the
public. The Health and Safety Executive, the Food
Standards Agency and the independent expert advisory
body responsible for the safety of GM releases (ACRE)
have supported the growing of this crop previously and
are content in general terms for it to continue to be
grown on agricultural land in Scotland, as it has been
for a number of years.
- Approval for Scottish sites to participate in the
FSE evaluations will only be granted when Scottish
Ministers are satisfied that the GM crop can be grown
on the selected sites without posing a threat to the
local environment or to public safety.
- The exact timetable will be determined by the date
when site details are formally notified to the Scottish
Ministers; a decision on whether approval has been
granted for individual sites is likely to be announced
in mid-March. If approved, we anticipate that spring
sown crops could be planted on Scottish sites from late
March onwards.
The 3 year UK-wide programme will, in total, involve
between 60 and 75 fields of each crop type. GM oilseed
rape, maize and beet are grown as part of the overall UK
programme but for climatic reasons only oilseed rape is
being grown in Scotland. In previous rounds of the
programme, 12 Scottish sites have participated. At the end
of the programme the results will be reported, made
publicly available and considered by the Scottish Executive
and UK Government. The results will be one of the factors
which will inform future decisions on whether GM crops have
a commercial future in this country. There will be no
commercial cultivation of GM crops in the UK at least until
the trial programme is completed and evaluated.
The farm-scale evaluation programme is overseen by an
independent Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) whilst the
research work itself is carried out by a consortium of
research institutions.
The SSC is an independent body which ensures that the
evaluations meet rigorous standards of scientific validity.
It decides how many trial sites are needed in order to
acquire representative scientific data. It also advises on
the methodology used in the evaluations. It handles the
results of the programme, receiving progress reports from
the research team twice yearly, which are published on the
Internet. The Committee is Chaired by Professor Chris
Pollock of the Institute of Grassland & Environmental
Research and has members from the RSPB, Imperial College,
The Game Conservancy Trust, English Nature and the Morely
Research Centre.
The research is carried out by a consortium of 3
organisations: the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the
Institute of Arable Crops Research and the Scottish Crop
Research Institute.
It is the role of the SSC to consider the final-year
sites for spring sown oilseed rape identified by the
industry and shortlisted by the research consortium. It is
anticipated that details of the proposed sites which have
met the criteria of the SSC will be notified to the
Scottish Executive and UK Government around 31 January and
will be published immediately thereafter.
The variety of GM oilseed rape to be grown this spring
has been genetically modified to be tolerant to a specific
type of herbicide. It has been grown in the UK for research
purposes for a number of years and has general consent for
use in the farm-scale evaluations. However, approval to
grow the crop on individual sites for the evaluation
programme must be sought from the Scottish Executive and UK
Government. Approval for these sites will only be granted
when Ministers are satisfied that the GM crop can be grown
on the notified sites without posing a threat to the
environment or public safety.