embassy events 2008 

Spanish Farmer Visits Poland to Discuss Crop Technologies

30 May 2008

Mr. Romeo and his corn

The U.S. Embassy in Poland's Agricultural Counselor, Eric Wenberg, hosted Jose Luis Romeo of Spain in Poland on May 27 and 28 to discuss biotechnology and crop technologies with Polish corn farmers and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Environment. Mr. Romeo is a farmer from Spain's northwest, a region that suffers from a common pest in Europe, the European Corn Borer. By using an improved technology crop, resistant to the corn borer and created by laboratory transgenetic means to use the natural pesticide commonly referred to as Bt or Bacillus thuringensis, Mr. Romeo has a healthy corn crop rather than facing a 30 percent yield loss. Spain will raise almost 100,000 hectares of Bt type corn in 2008. Poland has a more intense outbreak of the corn borer that causes $300 million in crop losses each year. In 2007, Poland imported 610,000 tons of corn rather than grow that crop itself. In Spain, as around the globe, the improved technology crop sells at the same price as a conventional crop. Over 33 nations, including many E.U. member states, grow these types of crops, as well crops that have been judged safe by regulatory authorities around the globe, including the European Food Safety Agency and E.U. sanitary authoritiesf (for use in animal feeds). E.U. consumers are wary of the crops, but must judge whether they want to let their producers use them or import crops and meats from other countries that use this technology.

Links to additional information on Farmer.pl:

http://www.farmer.pl/produkcja-roslinna/nasiennictwo/uprawiac_zysk_z_gmo_to_bardzo_proste_,282ed880e2b3acd0e984.html

http://www.farmer.pl/produkcja-roslinna/nasiennictwo/gmo_w_hiszpanii,1cb62e4d34549e4a22f0.html