Details have emerged of wide-ranging European Commission proposals that could impose considerable restrictions on the use of crop protection products in the United Kingdom and across EU countries.
They take the form of a draft framework directive on the sustainable use of pesticides,– the first piece of legislation to be generated under the Commission’s Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides announced in July 2006. The EC has proposed a range of measures to tackle pesticide use, including national action plans, training for users, new rules on inspection of pesticide equipment and the handling and storage of pesticides and special measures to identify areas where minimal or even zero pesticide use is permitted.
Further details emerged this week of amendments to the draft proposal agreed by the EU environment committee last month. These include:
• Mandatory sprayer testing, to be conducted at least every five years.
• A ban on spraying ‘vertical’ crops (e.g. hops, orchards) alongside or near watercourses because of concerns over long distance transport of crop protection products.
• A 50 per cent reduction in use by 2013 of all products of ‘very high concern’ or classified as toxic or very toxic.
• Substantial buffer zones alongside public areas, including residential areas.
• The implementation of a community-wide pesticide tax or levy to fund promotion of low input systems, crop-specific integrated pest management (IPM) and organic farming.
• Minimum standards for IPM to be defined.
• Sales of crop protection products to be made to professional users only.
• Greater efforts to check up on illegal imports.
Farmers Guardian