Pesticide proposals could slash wheat yields by one third

Date:12-17-2008

EU plans to remove hazardous pesticides from the market could slash wheat yields by 30 % and stop the production of carrots and parsnips altogether, a major new study has warned.

The study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s agriculture committee and produced by the University of Warwick, says the Commission proposals will seriously hamper farmers’ ability to manage pests and disease.

The study said: “Under Commission cut-off criteria, loss of herbicides would jeopardise production of minor crops such as carrot, parsnip and onion and fungicide loss might result in 20 to 30 per cent yield losses in wheat.”

The study was presented to MEPs on the agriculture committee, who also listened to evidence from other expert speakers.

After the meeting, Alyn Smith MEP said he feared food security would be threatened by the new rules.
He said: “I have no difficulty with the principle that the EU’s chemical industry should be pressured to innovate towards cheaper, safer products, but there has to be balance and food security must surely take precedence unless there are real proven risks to any particular product."

Prof John Lucas, from plant research centre Rothamsted, presented a petition to the committee, signed by 72 scientists and agriculturalists, which warned how the pesticide cut-off criteria could devastate agriculture.
Prof Lucas told MEPs that agriculture could not withstand the loss of more active ingredients.

“We fear that we will not be able to replace the substances banned at the speed that policy makers believe. The industry is only able to launch about five new active ingredients per year. This is 10 times less than the rate at which they have been removed from the market, but pests develop resistance faster than the industry finds solutions. Farmers need to have a variety of pesticides to maintain efficient pest management programs,” he said.