The Scottish Government

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

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Three farms plan GM crops

31/01/2002

Three Scottish farms are proposing to plant GM crops this spring as part of the third and final year of the UK-wide farm scale evaluation programme, the Executive announced today.

Applications have been received for two farms in Aberdeenshire and one in Fife which, if approved, would join the 12 other Scottish sites that have participated so far in the programme by planting oilseed rape.

Approval to proceed on each site will only be granted if Ministers are completely satisfied that the crop can be grown on the site without posing a threat to the environment or public safety. In reaching that decision Ministers will take account of the advice of expert advisory bodies as well as any representations which are received from the public or other interested bodies. In this regard members of the public will be able to comment on any aspect of these proposals if they wish.

It should be emphasised that the 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 designed to provide factual information to better inform future decisions on whether these crops have a commercial future in this country. The safety of these crops has already been assessed 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 health or environment and if there is any doubt about the safety of proceeding on an individual site, Ministers will withhold consent to do so. Decisions on whether planting is permitted to proceed on individual sites will be announced in mid-March.

The proposed sites are at the following locations:

The Farm-Scale Evaluations (FSEs) are a three-year UK-wide programme allowing independent researchers to study the effect, if any, of the management practices associated with GM herbicide-tolerant crops on farmland wildlife, when compared with weed control used on non-GM crops.

2002 is the third and final year of plantings under the programme. The final spring-sown oilseed rape crops will be sown in Scotland this spring. A final round of autumn plantings will be announced in the late summer. For climatic reasons only GM oilseed rape is grown in Scottish trial sites. 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. It has been agreed with the industry that there will be no commercial cultivation of GM crops in the UK at least until the trial programme is completed and evaluated.

Individual sites are selected independently of Government but require to be submitted to Ministers for approval. The programme is overseen by an independent Scientific Steering Committee (SSC). The SSC is chaired by Professor Chris Pollock (Institute of Grassland & Environmental Research) and includes academics and conservation experts. The research is carried out by a consortium of research institutions including the Scottish Crop Research Institute in Dundee. Researchers are studying differences in the number and types of weeds and insects (including bees and butterflies) in GM and non-GM sides of the trial sites. So far, researchers have investigated the effects on wildlife of the herbicide management associated with these crops at 43 spring-sown oilseed rape sites (and 51 autumn sown rape sites).

The GM oilseed rape used in the FSEs is tolerant to the herbicide glufosinate ammonium (known as Liberty). This herbicide is already approved for use in conventional farming and is used in a number of agricultural and domestic applications, many available from garden centres. The Advisory Committee on Pesticides has approved the use of this herbicide in the Farm Scale Evaluations with GM herbicide-tolerant spring-sown oilseed rape. In the Committee's view the nature and scale of the use of the herbicide in the Farm Scale Evaluations gives rise to no risk of water contamination either in excess of the limit set by the EU Drinking Water Directive or at a level which would cause concern about effects on human health or the environment.

The Executive is writing to all local authorities and community councils in whose areas the proposed sites are located as well as a number of other interested bodies to explain the nature and the purpose of the evaluations. Public notices will also be placed in local newspapers.

The Executive recognise that many people have uncertainties about GM crops and wish to give the public the opportunity to become aware of what these evaluations involve and why they are considered necessary. The statutory period for this process was recognised by Ministers and the Agriculture & Environment Biotechnology Commission as being unsatisfactory. This spring Ministers have agreed with the industry that decisions on the applications need not be taken until mid-March. If approved, this would enable planting to take place from late March depending upon weather and soil conditions.

The Executive and its advisers will assess proposed sites against the risk assessment in the research consents for the spring-sown oilseed rape and beet. These assessments are intended to verify the location and size of individual sites, as well as establishing the local ecosystem and the proximity of the site to sites of special scientific interest.

Separation distances are applied to the GM crops in the programme to minimize cross-pollination with neighbouring conventional and organic production. Separation distances are not about safety; the GM crops in the FSEs have already been through a detailed safety assessment under the regulatory process. Separation distances help to ensure that any cross-pollination with nearby compatible non-GM crops is minimised but they cannot prevent pollen transfer completely. The separation distances applied to the GM crops in the FSEs should mean that cross-pollination of nearby compatible crops is below a level of 1%, and much lower than this in the large majority of cases.

The GM crops in the FSE programme have already been through years of tests in laboratories, greenhouses and small plots of land. The independent Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment has assessed that the crops are safe for human or animal health and for the environment.