Wednesday, 16th July 2008
French Farm Minister shows sympathy for Scot’s cereal growers
A Scottish Tory Euro MP today asked the French Agriculture Minister to be "more pragmatic" in his approach to a ban on pesticides and fungicides proposed by the French Presidency of the EU.
Addressing Michel Barnier - currently President of the Council of Agriculture Ministers under the rotating EU presidency - Struan Stevenson said that plans by the European Commission to ban fungicides like Triazoles, which are used on many different types of plants including field crops, fruit trees, small fruit, vegetables, and turf, will have a devastating impact on Scottish farms in particular. Speaking in the Agriculture Committee in the European Parliament, Struan Stevenson continued:
"These fungicides are highly effective against many different fungal diseases, especially powdery mildews, rusts, and many leaf-spotting fungi. Even the UK government's adviser on these matters, the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD), has assessed that these proposals would be disastrous for crop production in Europe. The folly of such proposals, at a time of rising food prices and a food shortage scare, is absolutely clear.
"Farmers in Scotland spray Triazoles on spring barley to combat diseases like rhynchosporium, net blotch, eyespot and mildew. If Triazoles are forced off the market by these proposals, it will have a major impact on barley and wheat crops in the UK and because of our damp climate, in Scotland in particular. Crops of wheat and barley in Scotland would be drastically reduced and we would be forced to import cereals from outside the EU where our competitors have no qualms about using such pesticides and fungicides. Once again we will have crippled our producers while handing a massive advantage to our direct competitors.
In his reply to Struan Stevenson's question, Michel Barnier agreed that there was a need for a programme of harmonisation across the EU Member States to ensure that such regulations did not impact more on one country than another. However, he said that there is always a delicate balance to be struck between food production and consumer safety and he felt that the answer lay in the gradual phasing-in of any bans to give time for scientists to find viable alternatives within five years.
