French Farmers may have to pay for GM cultivation
Landwirtschaft Switzerland, Friday, February 10, 2006
Translated by Stephan Nyeki, Checkbiotech

French farmers may have to pay for the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in the future. Up to 100 Euros per hectare will have to be paid into a liability fund.
The fund will act as compensation for GM mixing, which exceeds the agreed threshold of 0.9 % set by the EU. This was proposed in a preliminary draft by the French Ministry of Research, reported the agriculture news agency AIZ.
France intends to implement the EU environmental release guidelines with this law. The country is under pressure after the EU commission threatened it with penalty payments in December.
The liability fund will initially exist for five years, and an insurance model is planned thereafter. The tax is controversial, among other aspects, because seed producers do not have to contribute to the fund.
Left-wing EU Parliamentarians and environmental organizations have criticized the preliminary draft, because it clears the way for the commercial cultivation of genetically engineered crops in France.
Greenpeace commented that the burden would exclusively fall on the farmers, while the food industry, seed producers and commerce would get off scot-free.
Maize producers are also resisting these developments. “If farmers use licensed seeds and adhere to cultivation regulations, they should not be held responsible for any out-crossing,” stressed the AGPM federation.
A legal provision for the co-existence of GM and non-GM crops is urgently necessary, in the opinion of the French farm federation (FNSEA).
According to Agra-Europe, the FNSEA greeted the planned obligatory registration of plots on which GM crops are grown. “This is very positive with regard to transparency and credibility.” The FNSEA also supports the liability fund, however, the financial sum is under question.
The president of the right-wing Coordination Rurale farmers lobby, Francois Lucas, was on the other hand furious about the draft. “It is completely out of the ordinary that the farmer should be liable, if he uses licensed seeds and fulfils cultivation requirements.”
Copyright Landwirtschaft Switzerland
* Source: Landwirtschaft.ch

Web Link: http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id
=12221&start=1&control=207&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1