GM plants in the EU in 2009 Field area for Bt maize decreases

The field area for genetically modified plants in the European Union decreased further in 2009.

In France and Germany, national cultivation bans for genetically modified Bt maize (MON810) were enacted in 2009. Both countries have suspended the approval issued according to EU law. In 2008, French farmers sowed Bt maize on approximately 21,000 hectares.

In the meanwhile, stricter co-existence regulations apply in almost all EU member states. As a rule, farmers in all areas must maintain minimal distances to neighbouring conventional fields and register the field area for Bt maize with the responsible authority.

Even in Spain, which still maintains the largest crop area by far of Bt maize in Europe, four per cent less Bt maize was cultivated than in the previous year. However, the cultivation of maize experienced a general decrease in Spain. The proportion of Bt maize in Spanish maize production remained almost unchanged with approximately 22 per cent.

Souce: Industrieverband EuropaBio, ISAAA, USDA / Foreign Agriculture Service (2009)

* Source: Site register of the Federal Bureau for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, BVL

** Cultivation of GM soybean

Currently, actual farming utilises Bt maize MON810 exclusively. Another GM maize variety (‘event’ T25) is in fact approved for cultivation according to the legal regulations applied to gene technology but is not represented on the market.

See also on GMO-Compass:

• Spain: Bt maize prevails in regions with heavy Pyralidae infestation
• GM-Maize in the EU in 2007: 110,000 Hectares under Cultivation