Paris, France
March 30, 2007
USDA/FAS GAIN report FR7013
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200703/146280665.pdf
Report Highlights
French corn growers are
expected to intensify their production of biotech corn in
from 5,200 hectares in 2006 to 30,000-50,000 ha in 2007.
This results from the positive technical results they
obtained in 2006, with significantly higher yields and lower
mycotoxin content than conventional corn. They will also
benefit from the recent tranposition by France of the EU
Directive 2001/18 on biotech authorization and published new
coexistence rules.
Summary
The French Corn Growers
Association (AGPM) recently announced positive production
results from MON-810 Bt corn grown in 2006 on 5,200 ha. The
corn had higher yields with less stalk lodging and higher
sanitary quality than its conventional analog. (MON-810
variety is genetically modified to resist damage from corn
borer and sesamia infestations) These encouraging results,
as well as the recent French regulation on biotech
production and coexistence, are expected to trigger French
commercial production of biotech corn in 2007. Expert
analysis ranges from 30,000 to 50,000 ha of biotech corn in
2007.
2006 Technical Results
Yields
AGPM monitored 13 biotech corn
fields in various regions of France and found that average
yields were 9 percent higher than conventional corn yields
grown under similar conditions. In regions where the corn
borer infestation was highest, the incremental yield
provided by the Bt technology rose almost 12 percent.
Sanitary Quality
The sanitary quality of the
2006 biotech corn crop, in terms of mycotoxin content,
improved as well: when compared to levels found in
conventional corn, the fumosinin content in biotech corn was
45 percent (in the lowest infestation areas) and 58 percent
(in the highest infestation areas) lower. Insect infestation
provides an avenue for fungal contamination so protection
against pests also lowers the potential development of these
toxins. This is of great importance given the new EU
regulation setting maximum mycotoxin levels due to risks to
human health.
2007 Perspectives
Threats
On March 13, the anti-biotech
lobby CRII-GEN organized a press conference to present the
findings of a Greenpeace funded study which concluded that
MON863 was not safe for consumption due to its toxicity on
kidneys and liver. The study reinterpreted the toxicological
survey conducted by Monsanto on MON863. The French competent
authority for biotech approval (Biomolecular Engineering
Committee, or “Commission du Génie
Biomoléculaire” in French, or CGB) reviewed the same data
and approved the product. The CRII-GEN findings received
wide press coverage in France.
Regulatory Framework
Clarified
Research:
On March 19, the French Ministry of Agriculture authorized
13 biotech open field trials (12 corn products and 1
tobacco) for 2007 and rejected one request for a potato
trial. For more information on the dossiers approved, see:
http://www.ogm.gouv.fr/experimentations/decisions/decisions.htm
Commercial Production:
On March 20, France transposed EU Directive 2001/18 (EU
framework on the release of biotech products for both
experimentation and commercialization) into French law
through publication in the French Official Journal (Federal
Register equivalent)*.
Also on March 20th, the French
Ministry of Agriculture (MinAg) created a public register
where the number and acreage of biotech plots, by district,
will be made publicly available. This list will be available
on the inter-ministerial website of the GOF on biotech at:
http://www.ogm.gouv.fr.
In addition, the MinAg adopted coexistence measures for this
crop year which require 50-meter buffer zones for commercial
biotech plots (monitored by
Governmental authorities), and disclosure by biotech
producers to their neighbors of the existence of their
biotech crops.
Production Plans
French corn growers welcomed the publication of governmental
coexistence measures as standardizing practices that they
implemented in 2004 ensuring good practices for coexistence
and traceability of biotech and non-biotech corn.
Because of the positive
technical results they encountered in 2006, strengthened by
the new regulatory framework set by the French Government,
and despite the political pressure they are currently
facing, French corn growers plan to grow 30,000 to 50,000
hectares of biotech corn.
* These are decrees 2007-357,
2007-358 and 2007-359, supplemented by two supplementary
documents (called “arrêtés” in French) relative to voluntary
dissemination in the environment and the commercialization of
biotech products and to information gathering on biotech crops
cultivation.
PDF version of this report:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200703/146280665.pdf
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