Romanian Agricultural minister Mihai Dumitru discussed live online with HotNews.ro readers on Monday, June 28. One of the issues raised referred to the genetically-modified food. The minister was asked to detail what he has done to protect the Romanian seeds and plant species, whose quality was considered by the reader to be far superior to those imported. The minister was also asked if he intended to support the research and experiment centres from the agricultural sector. The reader believes the imported foods are of a poorer quality in comparison with Romanian products and insisted that the genetically-modified products were a ticking bomb for the public health.
Minister Mihai Dumitru said that the Agricultural Ministry's strategy was to encourage the production of national products where the commercial balance suffered a deficit, namely pork, chicken meat, fruit and vegetables. According to him, European money is targeting specifically these sectors. Plus, the state-aid schemes using national funds will now be addressing mainly these sectors.
On the genetically-modified food, the Romanian Agricultural minister said Romania could plant such seeds if there was clear scientific proof these will not be harmful to people and animals' health and if they brought economic advantages for the Romanian agricultural sector. The genetically-modified seeds must also be authorised at a European level, on condition that the crops are being planted on specific regions, as to avoid the risk of contamination.
