Scottish Government

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.