The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Dealing with the crop protection dilemma
CHEMICALS: Expert warns that EU regulations are forcing major companies to turn their investment elsewhere
The next five years are going to be tough for European crop producers, as more crop protection tools are set to be thrown from the toolbox by EU regulators.
To soften the blows, the UK crop industry must be allowed to take advantage of the latest new technology and better steward the remaining chemistry to maintain its use and efficacy.
Pesticide actives have always come and gone for a variety of reasons, but over recent years, losses have been accelerating and at the same time, the pipeline of new actives is drying up.
The European Union, which is responsible for chemical regulatory policy across member states, moved from a hazard-based to a risk-based approach to agrochemical approvals and is the key driver behind the losses.
It is now crunch time, with 36% of current active ingredients coming up for re registration using this precautionary principle during 2018-19, according to Jon Knight, AHDB’s head of crop health and protection.
With manufacturers having to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a product is safe to use for the public, operators and the environment, in many cases there is not enough research data to do so.
This means that the active ingredient is either withdrawn or the manufacturer will take the economic decision not to invest in research to provide the data to support reregistration.
In addition, a review of maximum residue levels (MRLs) for 47 active substances may mean they are withdrawn or relabelled with a lower and less effective dose.
Depending which source is used, there are up to about 50 chemicals
identified as potential endocrine disruptors (EDs), which interfere with human hormones, and are likely to be withdrawn.
A further 77 active ingredients are “candidates for substitution”, which means having to consider whether there is a significantly safer alternative control that could be substituted and could mean a reduction in different modes of action and potential resistance.
Julian Little, spokesman for agrochemical giant Bayer CropScience, says the over-burdensome approach to regulation in the EU is rapidly turning Europe into a “museum of agriculture”, as major companies focus their investment elsewhere.
So, what key products are we likely to lose?
The neonicotinoid debate has come to a head with EU member states voting to withdraw the use of imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam for all outdoor uses.
This will have a huge impact on pest control in a wide range of crops, including cereals, sugar beet and veg, where seed treatments containing these actives provide early protection against aphids which can spread plant viruses.
The potato sector may also suffer significant active ingredient losses, with desiccant diquat a candidate for substitution, key blight active mancozeb at high risk of falling foul of ED criteria and sprout suppressant CIPC (chlorpropham) approaching a final decision on its future next month.
The future of some azole fungicides – which form the backbone of disease programmes in a huge range of crops, including cereals – is also in doubt, which would make cereal production extremely challenging.
“In a worst-case scenario, the EU will class all azoles as endocrine disruptors and that will cause mayhem, particularly in damp climates such as the UK,” said Dr Little
“A more rational approach would get rid of the older azole chemistry and keep the newer, third generation azoles that were selected for a more favourable profile, but I suspect the EU will get rid of them altogether.
“The UK should stand firm and try to hold on to them rather than accept the one-size-fits-all approach of the EU.”
Experts agree this more rational, science-based approach is something that can be gained from the UK’s vote to leave the EU, which could potentially allow British agriculture to flourish.
The Crop Protection Association (CPA), which represents the UK plant science industry, is currently lobbying the government on post-Brexit crop protection policy to ensure farmers have access to tools in the future.
The organisation’s Adam Speed says the UK could become a leader and hub for plant science research and development, giving its growers early access to innovations that Europe does not have.