§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the number of new GM farm-scale trials which will be required for(a) autumn planting this year and (b) spring planting next year. [127026]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Scientific Steering Committee for the Farm-scale Evaluations has advised that 20 to 25 fields should be sought for the autumn sowing of the farm-scale evaluations of herbicide tolerant oil seed rape this year.
The original design for the evaluations was that for each GM crop 20 to 25 fields would be sought each year for three years. When it became apparent last February that there may be a shortfall in the number of farms for the spring sowings this year, the Steering Committee advised:
that (the industry body) SCIMAC would need to provide sufficient farms for the research consortium to select a minimum of around 12–15 farms, representing a range of intensities and geographical locations. This would also include some redundancy for operational problems. This would allow the number of farms to be increased slightly in subsequent years, and also allow any minor imbalances in the range of farms selected for year one to be addressed.I expect that, as a result, the number of farms for the sowings next spring and in 2002 will be increased to ensure that the original aims and objectives of the evaluations are met. The Steering Committee will provide further advice later in the year on the numbers required.
§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the varieties used in the non-GM part of the farm-scale evaluations. [127218]
§ Mr. MeacherMy Department does not hold information on the individual varieties being grown, as it is not relevant to the Farm-scale Evaluations research.