Oilseed Rape (Hansard, 9 November 1989)

§ Mr. Home Robertson
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the presence of pollen and other airborne material derived from flowering crops of oilseed rape giving the concentration in the atmosphere above the crop and the maximum extent of detectable contamination; and if he will give comparable information for other agricultural crops.

§ Mr. Curry
My Department has no information on the concentration of airborne material from oilseed rape in the atmosphere above the crop, nor comparable information on other crops. I am aware that some experiments have been carried out by individuals to detect the presence of oilseed rape pollen in the atmosphere in the vicinity of the crop and further afield.

§ Mr. Home Robertson
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take any steps to encourage the breeding and production of varieties of oilseed rape which minimise the dispersal of pollen and other airborne material into the atmosphere.
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§ Mr. Curry
If it were shown conclusively that existing varieties of oilseed rape caused serious problems for human health we would consider what measures were necessary to tackle the problem. The breeding of varieties with specific properties could be one such measure.

§ Mr. Home Robertson
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many hectares of oilseed rape were harvested in 1989; what tonnage was produced; what was the value of the crop; and what subsidy was paid from public funds for its production or processing.

§ Mr. Curry
The 1989 oilseed rape production survey of England published a 25 October estimated production at 821,000 tonnes from 284,000 hectares. The value of the 1989 crop in the United Kingdom as a whole is still being assessed. Value estimates will be included in "Agriculture in the United Kingdom" due to be published early in 1990. Production aid under the EC oilseeds scheme is being paid on the 1989 crop; final estimates of the amount paid will not be known until at least the end of the 1989–90 marketing year.