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An EU proposal to reduce the use of hazardous crop sprays by 80% by 2030 is “over the top” and must be resisted, says the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA).
ICSA tillage chair Gavin Carberry said he is alarmed at a report issued in Brussels which includes recommendations to the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) suggesting the move.
“This report by rapporteur Sarah Wiener MEP indicates that the European Parliament is prepared to go even further than the European Commission proposals by favouring an 80% reduction in pesticide use - instead of the 50% reduction proposed by the Commission.
“This is a completely over the top move, particularly in advance of viable plant protection alternatives becoming available. It must be resisted at every level,” he said.
Urgent assessment
Carberry called for an urgent assessment of the crop yield and food security impact of such a ramped-up crop spray ban proposal.
“It is a certainty that there will be serious implications for the availability of food and feed. Productivity will be massively hit with a 50% reduction and the situation would be even more dire with an 80% reduction.
“It is reckless in the extreme to bring in measures that will decimate production right across the EU and that will deny its citizens of vital commodities without first ensuring the availability of alternative products that work and can be purchased at a reasonable cost,” he said.
Insecticide
The ICSA tillage chair warned that he has already seen a 25% drop in yield for a sugar beet crop due to the recent non-availability of the plant protection product Rogor, an insecticide.
“This left the crop susceptible to disease, which then occurred, and which then resulted in my having to spray the crop twice with a fungicide.
“This shows the lack of joined-up thinking when the result is using twice as much of one product when another, more appropriate product, was taken off the market - plus my yield was 25% down,” he said.
Carberry said this indicates that the “EU could be setting us up for a massive food security crisis”.
“It is time for our Government to do more than simply allow the transposition of very flawed and dangerous EU regulations become the norm. We need to be able to protect our crops,” he warned.
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