2011-02-24
|
permalink
In the Czech Republic, the number of hectares used for genetically modified corn (maize) dropped to 4,680 in 2010 from 6,480 in 2009, representing a 27.78 percent drop. [...] The Czech Ministry of Agriculture (MZe) in a press release attributed the drop in GM corn area to problematic sales. The ministry, however, was supportive of GM crops, especially Amflora potoatoes, promoting them as a way for farms to increase profits and stay in business.
2008-09-15
|
permalink
Transgenic crops - officially genetically modified (GMC) - when properly used can bring benefit to farmers and consumers. Unfortunately the benefit to consumers is reduced by European legislation that requests many measures - mostly useless but costly. However the benefit to farmers can be calculated. The detail calculation was performed at the Czech University of Agriculture, Department of Agroecology and Biometeorolgy. In the frame of PhD thesis M. Čeřovská calculated economy tables of growing Bt maize, herbicid tolerant (HT) rape seed and sugar beet compared with standard crops.
2008-09-12
|
permalink
The plan is to turn Brno, a 13th-century city that went the way of manufacturing under communism, into a modern biotech hub and attract firms eager to tap into a skilled work force, even as a strong currency drives up costs and wages. ”We are trying to connect industry, education and infrastructure to make it easier for companies to come here to create an environment that suits biotech companies best,” Brno’s mayor Roman Onderka told Reuters. The Czech Republic now hosts around 60 biotech firms, mainly near Brno and the capital of Prague.
2008-05-30
|
permalink
A week before a key vote by EU environment ministers on tightening GMO cultivation rules, leading Czech scientists have called on European politicians to start a rational debate on the future of genetically modified plants. Claiming that GMOs are safe both for consumers and the environment, Czech experts would like to see the European Union embrace a more liberal attitude towards biotech crops. After France suspended commercial cultivation of genetically modified maize last November, the Czech Republic became the European Union’s second largest producer of biotech corn, after Spain.
2007-09-21
|
permalink
Bolstered by U.S. support, genetically engineered crops are beginning to sprout around the EU. When harvest comes later this month, Fred Yoder and Vít?zslav Navrátil expect to be pleased with the quality of their genetically engineered ears of corn. For Yoder, an American who owns a small family farm in the U.S. Midwest town of Plain City, Ohio, there is no question of whether the broader public will accept his corn. ”It’s just not a concern for the U.S. consumer. He feels it’s good [to eat],” said Yoder, who attended a biotech conference in Prague Sept. 12, serving in his role as head of the U.S. National Corn Growers Association.
2006-11-03
|
permalink
They go together like chalk and cheese. Like orange and green, they should never be seen together. Genetically modified crops just can't be permitted to contaminate conventional or organic ones.
But judging by farmer experience in the Czech Republic, where 1290ha of GM maize was grown commercially this year, there is no reason why co-existence can't succeed.
