§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the amounts of pesticides used in grain stores in the UK. [66014]
§ Mr. RookerThe Ministry has collected pesticides usage data covering the agricultural and horticultural sectors since the 1960s and reports analysing all these data have been published. Information on grain stores is gathered every four years; the next survey will be this year for storage in 1998–99 of the 1998 harvest.
Comparison in usage data between the last surveys in 1994–95 and previous ones is difficult because of changes in grain store practice, survey methodologies and quantities of grain surveyed. However indications are that use in commercial stores has gone down substantially—the weight of pesticide per tonne of grain was only a third of the 1985–86 level—while use in farm stores appears to have increased—the weight of pesticide per tonne of grain was up by about a fifth on 1990–91 figures. The changes result from stricter hygiene requirements of grain buyers and improved administrative arrangements avoiding unnecessary treatments. There has been a move away from the practice of admixing pesticides with the grain towards treating the store's walls and floors to ensure no pests are left between emptying and re-filling.
§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research his Department has funded into the engineering design of grain stores to enable grain to be safely stored without the use of added chemicals. [66012]
§ Mr. RookerThe Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) has a strategic research programme on grain storage which includes a project on the development of modified atmosphere application systems for use within grain stores, as an alternative to control by pesticides. The MAFF work underpins more applied research funded by the levy body, the Home Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA).