§ Mr. Keith SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on farming of the removal of protected zone status for rhizomania. [34105]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 7 February 2002]: Removal of protected zone status for rhizomania should have little impact on the development of the disease for the next five to ten years. Most outbreaks that appear in that time will result from infection which is already present in the soil. The development of the disease thereafter will depend on the actions of growers, contractors and processors, in particular in limiting the movement of soil, the principal means by which the disease is spread. Growers with known outbreaks will benefit from the lifting of statutory restrictions on their farms.