Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 21.9. 2011

Inspection check stum; suspicious samples aim already in laboratory

Inspectors from the State Agricultural and Food Inspection have already managed tens of checks of sold stum in south Moravia this year. Of the checked beverages, ten were objectionable; therefore they sent their samples in laboratories. The test results will be known in several weeks. Besides insufficient quality of the beverage, the most often offences found out in stalls are insufficient marking. “Inspectors met with the fact this year that partially fermented grape must from different grapes than from those which originate from the Czech Republic is marked as stum which is illegal”, a spokesman of the Inspection Michal Spáčil explained. Even this year, the inspectors focus often on sellers or producers where they found out offences already in the past. Further they check up stimuli which they receive from discontented customers and at the same time they try to check as many other sellers as possible.

Chamber of Deputies supported amendment on seed circulation

Today in the first reading, the Chamber of Deputies supported a government amendment on seed and seedlings circulation which refers above all to seeds doe sowing intended for protection of natural environment. It is dealt with seeds for sowing used mainly in national parks or protected landscape areas, and its introduction on the market. As the Minister of Agriculture Ivan Fuksa said to deputies, it refers mainly to mountain meadows and meadow flowers. According to Fuksa, the amendment introduces a title to trade with such seeds and other connected duties. The change of legislative was required by an EU direction from the last year. A supplier, who will want to float the mentioned seed mixture, according to the new amendment will have to ask the Central Checking and Experimental Agricultural Institute for permission. At the same time he/she will have to inform the Institute on the amount of seed for sowing for which he/she asks for permission, and on the acreage and the placement of planned localities of collection.

CR egg producers are in danger of handicap against competition from EU

The Czech Republic together with several other states will ask Brusels to forbid exporting eggs from farms which don´t meet norms concerning the size and quality of cages in other countries of the block. A problem is that owing to these rules CR egg producers are in danger of being disadvantaged towards a competition from some other EU states. All is connected with a norm dealing with improvement of living conditions of layers in cages. The EU agreed on it already in 1999. On its base farmers are obliged till this year´s end to introduce cages with e.g. a wider bedding, a better access to water, and generally it will ensure layers better conditions for life. However, the European Commission made an investigation in the summer which showed that a quarter of all producers had not approached to these costly measures yet and will have not done it till this year´s end. Vice versa, the Czech Republic is one of roughly ten of countries which have already done it.

Agrarian Chamber against less favourable areas

The Marginal Areas Union (SMO) representing farmers in mountain and sub-mountain areas enters protest towards an effort of the Agrarian Chamber to liquidate farming in less favourable areas. SMO hold the view that agricultural management belongs both on the arable land in lowlands and the pastures in less favourable areas. These areas do not compete and each is suitable for a different kind of agricultural activity. Only with preservation of agriculture in Pošumaví, Krušnohoří, Lužické mountains, Jizerské mountains and Krkonoše etc a cultural landscape inherently connected with European space can be efficiently created.