FOOD 2050

In this clip, Philip Huxtable speaks about Integrated Farm Management (IFM) on his farm. European farmers are increasingly adopting and developing IFM, which combines traditional farming methods with modern technology and products: ‘the best of both’. This approach combines techniques such as crop rotation to prevent the build-up of certain pests in one field, choosing varieties of crops which are more resistant to disease, crop sanitation, and biological controls i.e. promoting beneficial insects that eat target pests, and only using pesticides (chemical crop protection) as the last line of defence.

Earlier this week, we attended a farm visit at JSR Farms in East Yorkshire, United Kingdom (disclosure: the event was organised by ECPA). The event was an “information day” for the press, aimed at providing a farmer’s opinion on the effects the proposed revision of the current pesticide legislation (Directive 91/414) will have on his ability to grow food. The farmer in question was Philip Huxtable, an agronomist with 30 years experience as a farmer, and currently the Managing Director of JSR Farms. Below you will see a few short clips from the visit in which Mr. Huxtable gives his opinion on what is driving the legislative process, potential impacts on yields, as well as his closing statement from, as he put it, his “political soapbox”!