Oct 26, 2006

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Bundestag hearing

Good farming practice: 50, 150 or 500 metres

In Germany, some farmers have been planting their fields with genetically modified maize since 2005. At the moment, however, there are no binding regulations on good farming practice for the cultivation of GM crops. German agriculture minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) has made several announcements about a bill, but it is not a simple matter, because the views of experts, associations and political parties still differ widely. This was shown again at a hearing held by the Bundestag Committee on Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection on 25 October in Berlin.

The invited experts and associations were unanimous in welcoming the government’s plan to introduce binding legislation on good farming practice for the cultivation of GM crops. They were also agreed that separate rules should be established for each crop – maize, potatoes, oilseed rape and sugar beet. But that was as far as the agreement went.

Dr. Gerhard Rühl (Federal Agricultural Research Centre, FAL: Coordinator of the BMELV coexistence research programme): “Provided there is no GM presence in the seed, the relevant literature enables us to derive a minimum separation distance for complying with the 0.9% threshold of 50 m. Preliminary results from the BMELV research programme indicate however, that the threshold can still be exceeded in isolated cases even with a separation distance of 50 m.”

Ulrich Heink , Technische Universität Berlin, plant ecology department: “According to current knowledge, the isolation distance for maize would have to be significantly above 150 m in order to keep to the GM products threshold.”

Jens A. Katzek , Managing Director of BIO Mitteldeutschland: “Trials in Germany have shown that a separation distance of 20 to 50 metres is sufficient to comply with the coexistence threshold on conventional maize fields. The planting trial in Germany showed that a 20 m buffer planting, as an alternative to an isolation distance, is also sufficient to fulfil the requirements. Trials in the rest of Europe have largely confirmed these values.”

Rules of good farming practice exist for many areas of agriculture. If GM crops are to be grown as well, good farming practice rules would set down the measures necessary to ensure the coexistence of different production systems (GM and non-GM) in the long term. They would include, for instance, a duty of care when sowing and cultivating GM plants, and in harvesting, storing, transporting and processing GM produce.

Time is pressing, in particular for maize. GM maize has been grown in Germany since 2005. No GM varieties have yet been approved for oilseed rape, sugar beet or potatoes.

The polarisation of opinions was demonstrated perfectly by the issue of isolation distances between fields with GM maize and fields with conventional maize. Such distances are designed to prevent ‘significant’ GMO contamination of conventional crops – i.e. contamination that would entitle the affected party to compensation.

• The Deutscher Raiffeisen Verband (DRV), one of Germany’s largest buyers of harvest produce, advocates scientifically-based safety distances and refers to experiences with field trials in Germany. They showed that “outcrossings over more than 50 metres are only marginal”. At 150 metres, which was the isolation distance proposed by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV), “outcrossings to neighbouring crops were practically excluded”.
• The position of the German Farmers’ Association does not include any concrete figures. They say that the rules of good farming practice should be “feasible” and not place an “unacceptable financial burden” on farmers.
• For the Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft (organic food industry federation - BÖLW) it is not a question of restricting GMO presence in conventional fields to the 0.9% labelling threshold, but rather a question of avoiding contamination altogether. Only then would it be possible to guarantee freedom of choice for consumers and producers. The BÖLW therefore wants to see the proposed separation distance of 150 metres trebled.
• Greenpeace has not committed itself to a concrete figure. “A distance of 150 metres would regularly lead to contamination levels of 0.3%.” This level of GMO presence should therefore, it believes, no longer be viewed as “adventitious und technically unavoidable”. Among the experts the picture was similar. Although they based their opinions on results of scientific studies, they came to different conclusions.

Among the experts the picture was similar. Although they based their opinions on results of scientific studies, they came to different conclusions.

Prof. Ulrich Heink, a plant ecologist at the Technische Universität Berlin, believes that the knowledge base that is to be used to draw up isolation distances is still very meagre. For him, in particular the impact on outcrossing rates of factors like climate and synchronised flowering periods has not yet been researched thoroughly enough. He therefore argues in favour of adding a safety margin on top of scientifically derived isolation distances.

Gerhard Rühl of the Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) coordinates the BMELV coexistence research programme that began in 2005. He bases his opinions on a selection of scientific studies that have been classed as ‘relevant’ by one of his ministry’s working groups and a number of federal authorities. The individual findings may differ widely, but Rühl believes that it is nevertheless possible to derive a minimum separation distance of 50 metres from them, to comply with the 0.9% threshold. From his own experiments, he knows that the threshold can be exceeded in isolated cases under extreme weather conditions and when the fields are positioned in a certain way. Rühl announced that the BMELV would be continuing its coexistence research programme. In particular, it would be investigating how wide a buffer planting between a GM field and a conventional field needs to be to effectively reduce GMO contamination through pollen drift.

Now it is a matter for agriculture minister Seehofer. He must present his long-announced proposal for good farming practice regulations. Time is pressing if they are to enter into force in time for the 2007 growing season.