Opium (Hansard, 27 July 2000)

§ Dr. Tonge
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the UN Drugs Control Programme research into pleospora papaveracea to control the cultivation of illicitly grown opium poppies to be completed. [132852]

§ Mr. Battle
The project is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2001.
829W

§ Dr. Tonge
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what financial support his Department has provided to Long Ashton Research Station of the Institute of Arable Crops Research since 1997; and what this financial assistance is intended for; [132856]
(2) pursuant to his answers of 13 July 2000, Official Report, column 653W, on drugs control, what steps he has taken to ensure that United Kingdom funding of UNDCP research into pleospora papaveracea to control the cultivation of illicit opium poppies is not used for research (a) into other fungi or (b) the control of other illicit crops. [132830]

§ Mr. Battle
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today.

§ Dr. Tonge
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Long Ashton Research Station of the Institute of Arable Crops Research provides the UN Drugs Control Programme in respect of research into pleospora papaveracea. [132853]

§ Mr. Battle
Two scientists from the Institute of Genetics in Tashkent, who are working on UNDCP sponsored research into pleospora papaveracea, visited the Long Ashton Research Centre in April 1999 to study methods used in the formulation and application of microbial herbicides. A scientist from Long Ashton has been acting as an adviser to the research programme since its inception.