USDA/FAS GAIN Report AU5004

Background

Austria is very well known for its anti-biotech position in the agricultural sector, as well as for having the highest percentage of agricultural area under organic production in Europe. Efforts to create “GMO-free zones” are being made in almost every province of Austria, and tough regulations on registration, liability, and supervision deter farmers and suppliers from employing agricultural biotechnology.

In April 2005, Austria’s largest organic farmer’s association, Bio Austria, will start a new initiative against the planting of biotech crops in Austria. Not only the 18,760 organically managed agricultural entities (9.5 % of the total Austrian agricultural entities) can take part in the campaign, but also conventional farmers who commit to not planting biotech crops.

Both organic and conventional farmers have to sign a special form to join in the initiative. Farmer’s who sign up for the campaign on a voluntary basis will earmark their fields with signs that state “We are so free… and grow without biotechnology” (in German: “Wir sind so frei… und wachsen ohne Gentechnik”) or “We are so free… agriculture does without biotech crops” (in German: “ Wir sind so frei… Landwirtschaft verzichtet auf Gentechnikanbau”).

Thousands of signs are expected to be put in Austrian fields in 2005, the first year of the campaign. Organic farmers in Upper Austria initiated this Austrian activity.

Upper Austria was the first province to draft a law to ban GMO’s on its provincial territory. However, the EU Commission did not accept the law. As a result, Upper Austria filed a complaint at the European Court of Justice against the EU commission.

The complaint has not yet been resolved.