Author: Vladimir Kuchar
Publication: Prague Business Journal
Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Full-scale production of crops containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is still at the experimental stage in the Czech Republic but could take a giant leap forward if the Ministry of Environment approves an application from Monsanto for the technology to spread beyond the U.S., Canada, Argentina and China.

The ministry has postponed a decision on the application from the U.S. company at the forefront of the spread of GM agriculture for clearance for GM seeds to be sold for commercial production until an expert commission gives its opinion.

Monsanto, the world's largest supplier of GM seeds, is the first company to ask Czech authorities to clear commercial production of so-called Bt Maize. This GM strain has the advantage of being deadly to the European corn borer, a common pest for the maize crop.

At the moment, Monsanto only grows this strain of maize experimentally in the Czech Republic at Branisovice, south Moravia.

Minister for the Environment Libor Ambrozek was originally expected to rule on the Monsanto application by the end of June but turned the documents over to the expert commission in July. Spokeswoman Karolina Sulova was unable to say how long the commission could take to report back and when a final decision could be expected. No European country has so far cleared the commercial use of GM seeds.

Further administrative hurdles might mean it will be several years before Czech farmers can plant GM crops. "[Other required steps] will take some two to three years," said Monsanto Czech Republic spokeswoman Miluse Kusendova.

Genetically modified food has so far made few inroads in the Czech Republic. All food products containing GMOs must, since Jan. 1, 2002, be cleared by the Ministry of Health and the products themselves must be clearly labeled as "genetically modified" or containing "genetically modified organisms."

GMO free

Far from witnessing a rush of such products, the Czech market has rather seen the debut of food products proudly disclaiming that they are GMO-free.
More food made from genetically modified crops could be on the way to the Czech Republic following the July 2 decision of the European Parliament to drop its five-year ban on the introduction of new biotech products on the European Union (EU) market and allow GM foods into the EU as long as they are clearly labeled. If this change encourages the export of more food containing genetically modified ingredients, then the Czech Republic will in all likelihood share in the increase. U.S. exporters have, however, complained that mandatory labeling will be expensive and that the new EU rules amount to an unfair trade barrier.

All genetically altered products including animal feed, vegetable oils, seeds and byproducts containing more than 0.9 percent genetically altered material will have to be clearly labeled with the words "This product is produced from GMOs."

Backed by Canada and Australia, the U.S., in the forefront of GM production and use, filed a complaint against the EU with the World Trade Organization (WTO) last month, arguing that its previous ban on foods containing genetically modified ingredients violated world trading rules. U.S. farmers estimate the EU ban has cost them around $300 million in corn sales alone.
The issue of genetically modified food also topped the agenda of U.S. President George W. Bush at the start of the month when he attacked the EU for preventing the spread of a technology that he claimed could help feed the world.

Unwelcome neighbor

Czech organic farmers lead opposition to the spread of GM crops. The cultivation of such crops is a threat to their future, said the deputy chairman of the PRO-BIO Association of Organic Farmers, Jiri Urban. He claims that their fields can be contaminated by pollen from fields planted with the modified crops. "We feel threatened because our organically grown crops could bear traces of this genetically modified maize," Urban said.

Environmental activists are also opposed. Greenpeace members warned Ambrozek not to approve commercial growing of GM maize in a symbolic action called "the funeral of environmentally friendly agriculture" staged in late June outside the Ministry of the Environment. "If genetically modified maize is released [for commercial production], no one will check where it is being planted. Consequently, environmentally friendly farmers would not be able to protect themselves against pollen transfer," said Vaclav Vasku, spokesman for the Czech branch of Greenpeace. If an inspection detects that environmentally friendly corn contains modified genes, an organic farmer can be stripped of his hard-won registration, can be fined and will have to return any state subsidies linked with organic agriculture, Vasku explained.
Ordinary Czech farmers are ambivalent toward GM crops, in spite of their claimed advantages such as resistance to pests, illnesses and weeds. "It would be attractive if we didn't have to use so many chemicals—it would even be financially advantageous," said Vaclav Stejskal, the chairman of the Bohunovice agricultural cooperative in central Moravia.

But he added that it was clear that consumers were afraid of the GM label, so "there's a question whether we wouldn't have problems with sales."
Worldwide, the total amount of land used for growing genetically modified crops increased by 12 percent in 2002, continuing the double-digit growth recorded since 1996, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), an organization promoting the spread the technology. The area under cultivation is now 58.7 million hectares, with more than one-fifth of the global crop of soya, corn, cotton and rape seed produced from biotech varieties.