www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

The European Agriculture Ministers discussed the coexistence of growing
biotech, non-biotech and organic crops, May 2006.

The European biotechnology industry notes in particular the importance of
the Agriculture Council?s recognition that the very different
agro-environmental and growing conditions across the EU require flexibility
in technical rules and for the establishment of Community wide thresholds
for GM in Non GM seed. For these reasons, we support the recommendation from
Council that the Commission develop more ?in-depth? technical guidelines
that can be adapted by the Member States to meet their own individual needs
as well as practical seed thresholds.

?EuropaBio considers that the more European farmers see the benefits
provided by crop varieties developed using modern biotechnology, the more
they are likely to want to grow them. Today?s recognition of that is a
welcome development?, said Simon Barber of EuropaBio ? the EU association
for bioindustries.

However, because of unclear or prohibitive rules in some EU Member States,
many growers still do not have a real choice. EuropaBio counts on Member
States and the European Commission to support today?s Council decision by
ensuring all European farmers have the freedom to choose.

Coexistence in Europe is already a reality and there is ample experience of
successful practices in Spain, the EU Member State that grows the largest
area of GM maize. The experience in Spain and from around the world shows
that growing organic and conventional non-GM crops in the same agricultural
region is possible when growers discuss their cropping plans with one
another and reasonable separation measures are set in place.

Successful coexistence will partially depend on establishing practical
thresholds for GM material in Non-GM seeds. EuropaBio therefore calls on the
Commission to follow the Council?s recommendation and put forward a proposal
to establish practical thresholds as a matter of urgency.

Plant biotechnology contributes to growth and jobs and provides a key role
in moving Europe?s knowledge based bio-economy forward. In its first ten
years, agricultural biotechnology has been taken up by farmers around the
world faster than any other innovation in the history of agriculture.
Currently 8.5 million farmers, across 63 countries are either growing or
experimenting with 57 different GM crops. The vast majority of these farmers
are in the developing world. By the end of the decade, the global market,
for the entire biotech sector is forecast to amount to over ?2000 billion.

www.europabio.org

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