Baseline information on agricultural practices in the EU ... - Europabio

- In Germany, the Plant Protection Product Reduction Programme was devised and published in
2004. This National Action Plan on Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products builds on that
programme (2008). The leitmotiv is the use of the necessary minimum of plant protection
products when all other practicable options to prevent and deter harmful organisms have been
exhausted.
- In 2008, France set a 50% reduction, where possible, by 2018 in the ‘Ecophyto 2018’. It also
banned the 53 most problematic substances, 30 of which would have been banned by the end of
2008.
Any change in agricultural practice will need to be evaluated against these objectives. New
developments may offer alternatives to existing products and present options for lower levels of
application of active ingredients with an improved environmental profile. Additionally, integration of
genetic tolerances or resistances to pests or diseases may expand IPM strategies.
Pest populations have the potential to develop resistance to the crop protection products used against
them, particularly if they are regularly treated with a single product. The result is that once effective
products are no longer able to control the pest and have to be replaced. Resistance is a natural
phenomenon but its development is an important threat for sustainable crop protection that must be
tackled proactively, through resistance management programmes.
Resistance management is undertaken within the context of an Integrated Pest Management
Strategy. It is possible that resistance management programmes require a change in agricultural
practice, e.g. by implementing diversification of protective measures in adjacent field zones.
The 2000/60/EC Water Framework Directive 24 states that aquatic environments throughout the EU will
have to achieve good ecological status by 2015. Pesticides are one of the main sources of water
pollution and aquatic environment degradation. The Groundwater Directive 2006/118/EC 25 has been
developed to elaborate further on the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. Member States
have developed national laws and regulations, prohibiting the use of some products, limiting the
application of others. E.g. in Belgium, buffer zones between the last treated row and water bodies are
required for certain weed control products. Denmark established a mandatory 10 m non-sprayed, nonfertilised
and unfarmed buffer zones on all water courses (by 2012) and a mandatory 25 m sprayingfree
buffer zones around public drinking water sources (PAN Europe 26 ). Buffer zones are also
recommended near streams or dams in Portugal (Anpromis). It is expected that for new crop
protection products a similar consideration will determine if a specific buffer zone is required.
5.3 Irrigation
In EU-27 the total agricultural area equipped for irrigation in the year 2003 accounts for 16 million ha
on a total of 182 million ha of agricultural land (Eurostat, Farm structure survey data 2000, 2003 27 ).
The majority of irrigated areas are concentrated in the Mediterranean region. France, Greece, Italy,
Portugal and Spain account for 12 million ha corresponding to 75% of the total area equipped for
irrigation in EU-27 (JRC, 2008, Water Requirements for Irrigation in the European Union). Whereas in
the Central and Northern European countries agriculture is generally rain-fed and irrigation is only
temporarily used to overcome water shortages during summer optimizing crop yields, in Southern
Europe it is an essential element of agricultural production (Figure 5).
24
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for
the Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1-72.
25
Directive 2006/118/EC of 12 December 2006 on the protection of groundwater against pollution and
deterioration, OJ L372, 27.12.2006, p. 19-31.
26
http://www.pan-europe.info/Resources/Reports/NAP_best_practice.pdf
27
http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=ef_lu_ofirrig&lang=en
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