European Parliament vote on pesticide package 'neglects needs of farmers and seed companies'

The European Parliament’s vote in first reading on three complementary legislative texts related to the authorisation and sustainable use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) is causing massive criticism from farmers, seed and crop protection companies alike.

"You can have the best intentions and still get things seriously wrong - this is exactly what  happened  here" Garlich  von  Essen,  Secretary General  of  ESA,  the  European Seed Association, comments on the outcome of the vote on the new legal framework for the authorisation of PPPs.
 
The  seed  industry  had  campaigned hard  to  include  provisions  in  the new  legislation that would allow for an EU-wide mutual recognition of authorisations for specific seed treatment applications. Such seed treatment applications regularly reduce the amount of  active  chemical  ingredients used by up to  90%  in  comparison to classical field sprayings. The seed industry has  for  along  time  underlined  that  the  technology actually  suffers  from  the  fact  that  it only  involves such  low amounts of pesticides as this  often  makes  today's  country-by-country  authorisation  process  economically unviable,  in  particular  for  smaller  markets.  "Currently,  the  seed  industry  is  stuck between  the European seed marketing  legislation  that theoretically establishes a  true Common Market  for  seed  and  the  old Directive  on  plant  protection  products  that  in practice  knows  no  enforceable  mutual  recognition  of  authorisations."  von  Essen explains  the dilemma faced by Europe's seed companies. As seed treatment  is more and more  becoming  the  state  of  the  art  technology  and  preferred  choice  of  farmers and growers worldwide, the problem is set to increase.
 
Another serious point of criticism from plant breeders, seed producers and farmers  is the missing provisions for so-called Minor Uses,  i.e. a facilitated extension of existing authorisations  to  other,  often  smaller  crops  and  specific  uses  such  as  breeding  or seed production.  "Europe's plant breeders and  farmers have worked hard  to develop the  large  number  of  niche  markets  that  take  account  of  the  growing  diversity  of European  consumers'  wishes.  For  many  of  these  very  small  markets,  there  is  no economic interest of crop protection companies to file expensive applications. Without a workable provision for such Minor Uses, we risk loosing this home grown production to imports from third countries" von Essen warns. 
 
The  seed  industry  is  now  looking  to  the Council  for  a more  balanced  and  practical approach  than  the  one  adopted  by  the  Parliament.  Von  Essen  is  still  hopeful: "Consumer  and  environmental  protection  and  a  competitive, sustainable  seed  and crop  protection  and  agricultural  production  can  be  achieved  together;"  he  argues  -   "in fact, seed treatment solutions are possibly the best available tool to do just that".

ESA is the voice of the European seed industry, representing the interests of those active in research, breeding, production and marketing of seeds of agricultural, horticultural and ornamental plant species.