Friday, 4th July 2008
EU proposes pesticides ban
Dear Sirs,
The EU is proposing to ban a number of pesticides from use in our agriculture sector on health grounds. In the new directive, a number of products would be eliminated because they are allegedly cancer-causing, although there is no substantive scientific evidence to prove this. The effects of such a ban are wide ranging. The banning of products like triazoles which are used to control diseases in wheat, barley and other cereal crops, could see losses of 20-30% in yields. The proposed ban of the pesticide mancozeb, which treats potato blight, could lead to yield losses of more than 20%.
At a time of rising food bills, this directive could have serious consequences. Farmers would need to see substantial price increases in order to be able to sustain the production of crops like barley, wheat, potatoes and vegetables affected by these bans. Price hikes for foodstuffs in the current climate would be deeply unpopular and would add to inflation.
Last week the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers voted by a qualified majority — with the UK abstaining — to adopt the proposals by the Commission. The draft regulation will now go before the European Parliament, which predictably has proposed even more draconian criteria leading to the likelihood of even wider bans.
At a time when the public purse is feeling the strain, I would suggest a more comprehensive study of the impacts of such pesticides before damaging the food industry even further.
Struan Stevenson MEP
