Brussels, 24/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - For the first time, the European Commission has authorised a Member State, Denmark, to pay compensation to farmers who suffer economic losses due to the presence of genetically modified seeds in the conventional or organic products they grow, and which they are no longer able to sell as such. This aid can be paid if the presence of GMO exceeds the threshold of 0.9%, and will be limited to the price difference between the market price for a seed which has to be labelled as GMO (because it contains more than 0.9% of GMO) and of another seed which is not supposed to be GMO. They will be paid for solely out of the obligatory annual contributions paid by farmers producing GMOs, to a total of 100 Danish crowns (13.4 euros) per hectare of land used to grow genetically modified crops. A private insurance scheme will soon replace this mechanism and will be managed by the Danish authorities, with a duration limited to five years. The Commission believes that this aid is compatible with Community rules on State aid, and notes that it may help to improve agricultural production structures by promoting the coexistence of conventional and GMO crops.