The approval of organic crop protection products in European agriculture is being accelerated and simplified. The European Commission aims to promote the use of environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical crop protection. This should be arranged by November, said Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
Brussels hopes by doing so to better equip European farmers with new products, so that chemical crop protection agents can eventually be replaced. The EU food strategy ‘from farm to fork’ has determined that the use of chemical agents must be halved, but agricultural organizations point out that no alternative has yet been offered.
The relaxed procedures have already been accepted by the EU member states but still need to be approved by the European Parliament. Last month, Dutch MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen (SGP) drew attention to the slow procedures with (temporary) EU President Julien Denormandie.
Ruissen pointed out to the French minister the insufficient capacity in many European countries to quickly and properly evaluate replacement products. Denormandie said that Ruissen is 'one hundred percent right that the approval process is far too slow. That approval takes three or four years is far too long.'
Currently, 'green' pesticides are subject to the same stringent testing criteria as chemical agents. Soon, the requirements will be adapted to the biological and ecological properties of the product.
Although forms of biocontrol have long been used in agriculture, they have recently received renewed attention as a sustainable and viable alternative to chemical pesticides. As it stands, more than 60 microorganisms have been approved for use in the EU.
Alternatives are needed in agriculture to be able to halve the use of chemical crop protection products in a few years. The EU Commission admits that bacteria, fungi, and viruses often have a weaker effect than chemical agents, especially when conditions during application are not ideal.