Final go ahead for GM trials

The new field trials will begin in the autumn

Scotland's Rural Affairs Minister Ross Finnie has given his formal approval for four Scottish farms to take part in GM seed trials.

News of the fresh experiments, which are part of a UK-wide evaluation programme, came to light earlier this month.

On Wednesday, Mr Finnie gave his official backing following expert advice that they do not pose a safety threat.

The list of farms includes two sites at Daviot in Aberdeenshire, where trials are already taking place, one at Rothienorman in Aberdeenshire and the fourth at Munlochy on the Black Isle.

Ross Finnie: Accepted advice

Ross Finnie said: "The farms taking part will play a valuable role in ensuring that the future of GM crops in this country is decided on the basis of practical agricultural experience and sound scientific research."

The minister insisted that the Scottish Executive would not take risks with the environment.

He said that an advisory committee had given assurances that there was no threat to the environment or public health.

The trials are not intended to evaluate the safety of the GM crops themselves - that testing has already taken place.

Concerns addressed

They are designed to show the effect on the environment of the different agricultural practices required to grow GM crops on a farm scale.

Mr Finnie said he had addressed the concerns of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany which suggested that greater distances might be needed to avoid unacceptable levels of cross-pollination.

The executive has also approved two applications for the release of the same GM rape crop in experimental plots at agricultural research institutes in Scotland.

It is believed environmentalists are unlikely to be reassured by the minister's comments. Farms where trials are being carried out have had crops damaged and some farmers have dropped out of the experiments.

Campaigners claim that so many trial sites have been destroyed, the experiment lacks scientific validity.