Cultivating a debate on GM crops

A new bill restricting the application of bio-technology to increase crop output and resilience was approved by the Sejm in February and is now awaiting finalization. The bill comes in the wake of an EU court's decision that a Polish ban on genetically modified (GM) crops, introduced in the summer of 2006, cannot override EU laws permitting the cultivation and trade of GM crops.

Since last year, a large number of independent farmers have protested vehemently to the ban. According to research firm Martin & Jacob, some 59 percent of independent farmers in Poland favor having the option to cultivate GM crops. However, only NYSE-listed agricultural R&D firms Monsanto and Pioneer have had the necessary resources to lead the fight in the courts. In January, the companies won their case against Poland's Research Centre for Cultivar Testing (COBORU) based on the EU precedent.

This decision inspired a draft bill which allows GM, but imposes complex restrictions and procedures that would effectively obstruct the activitiy of farmers and enterprises seeking to adopt agricultural bio-technology. It exacts a three-year, multi-level registration process for the crops in question, imposes a significant burden of accountability on farmers for potential harm to consumers or other farms, and requires costly monitoring systems.

Genetic engineering in agriculture is especially relevant with regard to the production of cleaner fuels. "EU standards to reduce fuel emissions call for an increase in the proportion of renewable energy resources to 20 percent," says Professor Tomasz Twardowski, president of the Polish Federation for Biotechnology. "I am confident that green bio-technology is the way of the future, especially for the production of new materials, including textiles, and ecological energy solutions, such as bio-diesel and bio-ethanol," he concludes.