Madrid, Spain
August 6, 2003

from Fundacion Antama via AgBioWorld

More than 13 research centres in Spain dedicate their work to issues concerning Plant Biotechnology, mainly in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, commented Jose Luis Garcia, general subdirector of Scientific Programming, Monitoring and Documentation for the Spanish Council for Scientific Research, the CSIC, in yesterday’s working breakfast: The future of agricultural Biotechnology in Spain: second-generation transgenics, organized by Antama Foundation in the National Natural Sciences Museum.

According to Jose Luis Garcia, “our highly qualified researchers could make Spain a European leading force on this subject, although in order for this to happen, we need on the one hand, more support from the Government, and on the other hand, for the present climate of scepticism towards genetically modified plants, to change.”

Standing out among the investigations which are being carried out within the framework of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research, are those relating to the fight against viruses which attack various species of plants, such as orchards. There are also projects for the detection of transgenics in food, for phyto-remediation (decontamination of heavy materials from the ground via transgenic plants), for plants tolerant of salinity, and there is even a study which aims to increase the quantity of fructose in barley, for industrial purposes.

Pilar Carbonero, professor of Plant Biotechnology at the “Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos” (Higher Technical School of Engineers) in Madrid, and recently named as the first female member of the Royal Academy of Engineering, undertook a study to analyse the role of the University in these investigations.

In her opinion, although the scientific projects are not as consolidated in the university field as they are in the CSIC, one of the most important projects in which the “Escuela de Ingenieros Agrónomos” participates, is the creation of the Institute of Biotechnology and Genomics of Plants, a project which relies on the support of the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) and the autonomous region of Madrid.

However, although formal discussions were initiated last year to carry out this project, “at present, the project is on hold due to a lack of finance and the social climate of uncertainty which exists right now”, stated Pilar Carbonero.

Regarding the passing of the new Regulation on labelling of GMOs, approved by the European Parliament last week, Carbonero indicated that “it is always good news, although the conditions imposed on companies are unfair and difficult to fulfill.”

Jose Luis Garcia also stated his opinion on the matter, commenting that “with this Regulation, countries which have declared themselves in favour of the moratorium have lost their final excuse and will have to make their position clear from now on. However, this measure is highly complex and we are yet to see whether or not the final product will increase in price.”

With regard to the agricultural dichotomy between GMOs and organic agriculture, Jose Luis Garcia commented that all this has to do with a false opposing argument, expounded by those groups most critical to Biotechnology, since he believes that “transgenic plants are the most organic because they do not require the use of pesticides and in the not too distant future, there will be plants which consume much less water.”