Trials show agriculture

THE CHAIRMAN of the scientific steering committee overseeing the 6m FSE trials has said they will probably affect future decision making regarding agriculture.

Chris Pollock said the trials were the “largest agro-ecological experiment in the world”.

They had demonstrated clearly and unequivocally how tight the associations are between agriculture and the environment, he said.

“Managing a balance between them will be a major challenge in the 21st century,” Prof Pollock added.

He indicated that the FSE results are likely in the years to come to affect decisions regarding agriculture and its environmental impact, regardless of whether GM crops are grown or not.

“Monitoring the effects of the entry level scheme can now be done on a rational, scientific basis, as these trial results are a benchmark,” Prof Pollock said.