www.czu.cz ; www.usab-tm.ro ; www.raupp.info

The National Institute of Agricultural Botany in Cambridge is playing a key
role in a research programme that could lay the groundwork for mass GM
farming across Europe, April 2005 by Lautaro Vargas.

NIAB will hire both scientific and non-scientific staff to meet the demand
from the CO-EXTRA programme. It is worth almost ?800k to NIAB over four
years, with funding from the EU and the UK Government.

Lumora, a University of Cambridge spin-off, is also involved: it will
provide a quick and easy method in the field for detecting the presence of
GM crops.

CO-EXTRA has 51 partners and is the largest GM research project running in
Europe. It will draw together all the information on GM crops and share it
with people in the agriculture and food industries as the basis for a more
informed debate.

NIAB?s role is to draw up a checklist for the whole of the agricultural
industry to help growers, seed producers and farmers make sound decisions on
whether or not to become involved in GM crop production in the future.

Dr Lydia Smith, a member of the NIAB project team, said: ?If GM crops are to
be grown, there needs to be a viable way for the whole farming community so
that it doesn?t affect non-GM growers.

?We will be in discussion with every sector of the agricultural industry to
ensure everyone is aware of both the benefits and the problems involved in
growing GM crops. This is a massive task, but it is one that must be
undertaken if Europe is to have an informed debate on this subject.?

NIAB has set to work a team of 15 scientists and technicians to look at:

? The steps necessary for the co-existence of GM and non-GM crops to work;

? Keeping GM produce separate from non-GM produce;

? Crop rotation systems.

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