The Scottish Government

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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Scottish Farms Apply For Permission To Hold GM Trials

03/08/2000

Four Scottish farms have applied for permission to be part of the latest round of GM farm scale evaluations announced today. The farms seeking approval are located at Rothienorman, two farms at Daviot in Aberdeenshire and one at Munlochy in Ross-shire.

The farms have applied to grow a genetically modified variety of winter oil seed rape as part of the three year UK wide programme.

Commenting on these latest applications by Scottish farms for approval to participate in GM farm scale trials Ross Finnie, Minister for Rural Affairs, said:

"The decision on whether or not to approve these winter trial sites will only be made after advice has been received from the statutory Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) who provide independent advice on applications to participate in the programme of GM crop trials.

"ACRE will also advise whether or not information just supplied by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) as part of a wider review of separation distances has any implications for the coming winter trials. ACRE's advice is expected shortly.

"The GM variety identified for trial is tolerant to a specific type of herbicide and has been tested in experimental research plots for a period of nine years. Over this extensive period of testing, the crop has satisfied the independent scientific experts that it does not pose a threat to the environment or to public safety.

"Only crops that have passed the exhaustive testing requirements required by EU legislation, to ensure that they are safe, can be considered for these trials. The proposed evaluations are to assess the environmental impact of the agricultural practices which are required to grow the crop on a commercial scale.

"In particular, the pattern of herbicide use is very different to that used for conventional crops. The researchers who closely monitor these crops will gauge whether this has any impact on biodiversity in the area of the trial.

"Until the three year evaluation programme has been completed there will be no commercial growing of GM crops in this country. We will use the results to satisfy ourselves that growing these crops will have no unacceptable effects on our environment.

BACKGROUND

1. The UK wide Farm Scale Evaluation Programme, which was formally launched in March 2000, began by looking at GM maize, beet and spring oil seed rape. A farm near Daviot, Aberdeenshire participated in the growing of spring sown oil seed rape. The inclusion of winter sown rape now completes the programme.

2. The Scottish Executive believe that it is important for the public to be aware of what is happening in their locality and why. For that reason the precise locations of the four Scottish sites where it is proposed to plant winter oil seed rape are being made public. The detailed locations of the proposed Scottish sites are as follows:-

3. Up to 25 sites have been identified across the UK which are suitable for inclusion in the winter programme.

4. The hybrid oilseed rape to be grown in these evaluations has been genetically modified to be tolerant to certain types of herbicide. The fields will be planted with the GM crop in part of the field and the rest of the field will be planted with an equivalent non-GM crop which will be treated with the usual range of weed and pest controls. The GM crop will be treated, as necessary, with the herbicide to which its modification has made it tolerant. The researchers will study the differences in the number and types of weeds and insects in the 2 halves of the field. They will also look at pollen transfer and cross-pollination.

5. The evaluations are part of a three year programme to allow independent researchers to examine what effect growing GM crops might have on farmland wildlife, as compared with growing non-GM crops.

6. The industry umbrella organisation SCIMAC (Supply Chain Initiative on Modified Agricultural Crops) provide the GM seed and arrange for crops to be grown on suitable farms. The research contractors select suitable farms from those offered according to a protocol agreed by the independent Scientific Steering Committee.

7. The research is being carried out by a consortium of three organisations:

Led by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) Including the Institute of Arable Crops Research (ICAR);a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) institute; and The Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI)

8. The Scientific Steering Committee is an independent committee which provides advice on the ecological studies in the farm scale evaluations, to make sure they meet rigorous standards of scientific validity. They decide how many trials need to be done in order to acquire representative scientific data. They also advise on the methodology used in the trials. They will handle the results of the farm scale research, receiving progress reports twice yearly, which are published on the Internet. At its meeting of 7 July the Committee considered potential sites which had been put to it by SCIMAC and the researchers. The Committee agreed the selection of the sites put to them after looking at geographical distribution of sites, ranges of farm type, management intensity and biodiversity of the sites and at the crop characteristics of winter oilseed rape.

9. For more information about farm scale evaluations and GM policy see the Scottish Executive website: www.scotland.gov.uk/gm

News Release: SE2175/2000
3 Aug 2000