International Policy Network, a UK think-tank, issued a statement today on their assessment of the ongoing reform of European pesticide legislation, Directive 91/414. Professor Sir Colin Berry, Emeritus Professor of Pathology at Queen Mary College, University of London, and former UK government scientist, criticised the proposed legislation saying: “The costs of implementing this legislation will be high – crop yields will fall, food prices will rise, more land will have to be farmed and fewer habitats conserved. But it is hard to imagine what the benefits will be.” He goes on to say that “if the same (hazard-based) principle were applied to the wider world, this would lead us to ban anything from bleach to coffee – even water.”

Click here to read the full statement by the International Policy Network.

Pesticide Information welcomes comments on Sir Colin Berry’s statement.

Last week we attended a press briefing in Brussels for the launch of a new impact study that looks at the possible price increases on agricultural markets in Europe if current revisions of the regulation governing pesticides (Directive 91/414) are approved. The study was produced by EuroCARE BONN, the European Centre for Agricultural, Regional and Environmental Policy Research, and was commissioned by ECPA (disclaimer: sponsor of Pesticide Information). At the event, I had an opportunity to speak to two of the panelists:

• Séan Rickard, Senior Lecturer in Business Economics from the Cranfield University School of Management, who wrote What price protection? An Economic Assessment of the Impact of Proposed Restrictions. He gave me his views on the derogation which gives a 5-year exemption on irreplaceable crop protection products and on food availability more broadly.
• Dr. Marcel Adenauer from EuroCARE Bonn and the University of Bonn, who headed the panel. Marcel talked about the possible effects on the price of fruit (the EuroCare report focuses on wheat and potatoes), the effects of price increases on the European economy as a whole, and the prospect of Europe giving up its primacy in food production.

For background information on this legislation visit EurActiv.

This week Farmers Weekly Interactive reported that the UK food chain is seeking a meeting with Britain’s Prime Minister over the European Commission’s proposals for pesticide authorisations. The British Retail Consortium,Food and Drink Federation, Fresh Produce Consortium, as well as the NFU Crop Protection Association, British Crop Production Council, Country Land and Business Association and the Agriculture Industry Confederation have all signed the letter requesting the Prime Minister “urgently raise the need for an impact assessment with President Sarcozy and EU heads of state, for further discussion at the European Council level”.

The complete letter is available on Farmers Weekly Interactive

Substantial increases in household food prices could result if the European Parliament succeeds in pushing through its version of proposals to cut the availability of pesticides for use in agriculture. This is the key finding of a new report on the impact of the EU’s proposed pesticides legislation carried out by economist Sean Rickard of the Cranfield School of Management.

Under the European Parliament’s most restrictive scenario, which would remove 85 per cent of current pestcides from the market, EU cereals output could drop by about 100m tonnes, leading to an effective doubling in grain prices. A £100/t increase in wheat prices, according to Mr Rickard’s calculations, would translate into an extra 9p on a loaf of bread, 3p on a litre of milk and a 40p increase in the price of pork. Potato prices would also double. Mr Rickard suggested that it could easily put another 10 per cent on the rate of food inflation.

The report notes that for arable farmers these price rises would not be enough to make good the drop in yields. For livestock farmers, the rise in feed prices would cut incomes, forcing many out of business. The UK would also face a deterioration in the food trade deficit of £14bn, as more imports are drawn in and self suffiency falls.

In many instances the proposals would force farmers to replace crop protection products with increased cultivations. The farming industry would become more dependent on fuel and, with it, ots carbon footprint.

Calling all readers: we’d like your take on the issue of food security within the context of crop protection. In short, soaring prices has made global food security one of the major topics of 2008, and yet industry and farmers claim that the new proposed regulation governing pesticides, which would limit the amount of pesticides available to farmers, could make things even worse. Do you agree or disagree with them? If so, why?

The European Parliament recently voiced its concerns regarding rising food prices in the EU and developing countries at its plenary discussion in April 2008. I raised the point that we should have a closer look at our European legislation and whether it allows for an increase of agricultural productivity. We have numerous legislation restricting the use of fertilizers and pesticides leading to an increased burden on farmers to produce high quality products at an affordable price for everyone. I believe this is exactly what hinders an increase of productivity. I therefore propose we should reconsider what changes in this area are necessary whilst safeguarding high standards of protection of the consumer and the environment.

Dr. Horst Schnellhardt, MEP

This edit has been added on 2 June, to respond to requests to have this blog entry in French.

Dr. Horst Schnellhardt, MPE, sur la législation et la productivité agricole
Le Parlement Européen a récemment fait part de ses préoccupations concernant la hausse des prix des produits alimentaires au sein de l’Union européenne et des pays en voie de développement lors de sa session plénière d’avril 2008. J’ai moi-même soulevé que nous devrions examiner de plus près notre législation européenne afin de déterminer si elle permet une augmentation de la productivité agricole. Nous avons de multiples législations restreignant l’utilisation des engrais et des pesticides qui conduisent à une charge accrue pour les agriculteurs pour produire des produits de haute qualité à un prix abordable pour tous. Je crois que c’est exactement ce qui entrave toute augmentation de productivité. Je suggère dès lors de reconsidérer quels changements s’avèrent nécessaires dans cette matière tout en maintenant des standards élevés de protection du consommateur et de l’environnement.

Here are some more clips from interviews recorded at the scientific workshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia, last week (see other blog entries below). Dr Ian Denholm, Rothamsted Research, UK, speaks about the need for radical steps to meet the growing demand for food in Europe, and Lise Nistrup from Aarhus Universitet, Denmark, outlines the effects of pesticides on crop yields.

The full interviews and other material are available on our YouTube.com channel

There are so many articles online highlighting the global increase in the cost of basic foods such as grain, corn, rice and the knock on effect this is having on the cost of beef. People fighting to get limited stocks of bread in Egypt, parents unable to feed their families in Asia due to staples such as rice double in price. The BBC has some short videos on the subject, from the wheat farmer in Australia to a bakery in America. On the same subject I read an interesting blog by the Democrats & Liberals with a load of links to follow on articles that is worth reading, plus it’s attracted several comments from readers. If you want to learn about the global increase in food and how global warming, diet, oil prices and biofuels are all playing a hand in this supply and demand crisis, is a good place to start.

Last week in Brussels, Dr. Harald von Witzke of Humboldt University presented a Working Paper entitled “Global agricultural market trends and their impacts on European Union agriculture” which he has co-authored. His presentation, in which he summarises the arguments and presents some of the numbers, may be viewed below. In the coming days, we will be posting some entries showing some shorter snippets from the Q/A session that followed the Professor’s presentation.

Disclaimer: the Working Paper was co-funded by the European Crop Protection Association.