EU and Ukraine tackle fake agchems

A campaign against the growing number of fake and dangerous pesticides in Ukraine has been launched by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) and the Ukraine-based European Business Association. The new initiative, the EU Crop Protection Information Service (EUCPIS), seeks to raise awareness among farmers of the risks of using counterfeit products. It will distribute information through a new publication, Record Harvest.

"We want to support the authorities in what is a very difficult environment and we look forward to sharing intelligence and setting up training so the customs and crop protection specialists are better informed," says Marek Luczak, chief executive officer of Syngenta Ukraine and chair of the European Business Association's agrochemical committee. Ukraine government officials and industry are discussing how the growing problem of fake pesticides might impact upcoming negotiations with the EU on a free trade area and future food exports to the EU, he adds.

The initiative has the support of the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights, a public-private partnership that aims to protect rights in the countries of the former Soviet Union. The Ukraine campaign is part of a wider anti-counterfeit effort that the ECPA is running in many European countries, including Spain, Germany, Greece, Italy and Poland.