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

Prof. Dr. Marc Van Montagu, Chairman International Plant Biotechnology
Organisation (IPBO)[i] Gent University and president of the European
Federation of Biotechnology, told journalists in Brussels that European
farmers are lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of access to
agricultural biotechnology, January 2007.

Marc Van Montagu, one of the best known plant biotech pioneers in Europe,
is convinced that technology transfer and plant biotechnology research
oriented to the needs of the developing countries are important: "Fighting
the vicious circle of hunger and poverty is the most urgent task that faces
our society, and will require a reformulation of current models of
agriculture," he said. But he also believes that the technology has already
demonstrated considerable benefits in Europe, despite systematic attempts to
deny European farmers the right to use a technology widely used in the rest
of the world.

Although new figures published last week by ISAAA[ii], The International
Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, show that in 2006
the number of hectares globally cultivated with GM crops increased by 12
million hectares most of this growth came from countries such as China and
India. Most EU farmers continue to be held back by a dysfunctional
regulatory system and by disproportionate co-existence rules.

Prof. Marc Van Montagu is convinced that in Europe too often the GMO debate
"centres on emotional arguments, rather than looking at scientific
positives." As a result he believes that EU countries are missing out on the
benefits offered by biotech crops. For example the Hungarian government has
refused to lift its ban on GMO maize. Mr. Gabor Balla, a Hungarian farmer,
told journalists that "as long as Hungarian farmers are denied access to
this beneficial and safe technology they are at a competitive disadvantage
versus farmers from France, Czech Republic, Portugal, Germany, Spain and
Slovakia who are already planting biotech crops. I've spoken with these
farmers and they are happy with these new products, so why can't I grow
them? "

EuropaBio[iii] welcome the European Parliament's own-initiative report
"Biotechnology: Prospects and Challenges for Agriculture in Europe"[iv] and
the debate it is creating regarding future prospects and challenges of this
promising technology. The Biotech industry encourages the members of the
Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament due to vote on 24th January
2007 to support Mr. Virrankoski's report which highlights the benefits of
agricultural biotechnologies in Europe.

[www.europabio.org]