#Savethebees, #Savethebees, – the alliance of 79 civil society organizations that has successfully pursued the European Citizens’ Initiative of the same name (1) – takes action on the path to reform rules on the ‘sustainable use‘ of pesticides and other agrotoxics.
The drastic reduction in the use of agrochemicals that expose public health and biodiversity to serious risks, promised by the Commission in the EU Farm to Fork strategy and reaffirmed by the European Parliament on 20.10.21 (2,3) must come based on data hitherto omitted.
#SaveTheBees, the European Citizens’ Initiative.
On 9/30/21, the signature collection in support of the #SaveTheApi referendum initiative concluded in Brussels with over 1.2 million signatures. One of the few European Citizens’ Initiatives, it should be noted, to have achieved this so far. As evidence of the growing attention of citizens-as inhabitants as well as consumers-to the use of agrochemicals in agriculture.
#SaveTheBees aspires to reform EU rules in the following terms:
– Phasing out pesticides, herbicides and other agrotoxics. -80% in 2030, -100% to 2035,
– Adoption of stringent measures for the recovery of biodiversity,
– Supporting farmers in the ecological transition. (4)
Sensitization and awareness
Raising awareness among citizens and consumAtors about the dangers associated with pollution of air, water, and soil with neurotoxic substances and endocrine disruptors has allowed widespread awareness to mature. Short supply chains and agroecology have become part of the common lexicon.
The brisk growth of organic production and sales of organic products in Europe, (5) for that matter, demonstrates how consumer attention is focused on both aspects of:
– individual health, of particular relevance with regard to the immune system that organic foods help to strengthen, (6)
– collective health and ecosystems, in that logic of One Health that identifies the need to protect people, animals and the environment with a synergistic approach.
#SaveApi, call for data-driven reform
The 79 civil society organizations supporting the #SaveTheBees initiative. published an open letter on 2/25/22 addressed to the Commission, Parliament and the French Presidency of the Council (I Semester 2022). To highlight the need for EU reform based on accurate and up-to-date data regarding the actual consumption of agrochemicals in member states and scientific evidence on the risks associated with their use.
Indeed, the AGRI (Agriculture and Rural Development) Committee of the European Parliament has adopted a report on the proposed EU regulation on agricultural statistics(Statistics on Agricultural Input and Output, SAIO. See footnote 7) which, following the amendments proposed by the Council of Ministers of Agriculture of the member states, would effectively maintain the status quo. That is, a deficient and ineffective data collection system on a five-year basis. (8)
Statistics on Agricultural Input and Output (SAIO), sparse and inaccessible data
‘It is intended to highlight the insufficiency of the data collected so far and the inefficient ways in which they are shared, processed and analyzed. Checking and data entry procedures are often not validated or stored electronically and are in fact not retrievable or usable.
Even the little data that is available is often not made available to the public with the transparency that is instead due. Public bodies, regional bodies, ministries of member states do not have access to such data, and there is no adequate information to protect and inform about the statistically revealed risks, harms and consequences of pesticide use.’
Input and output in agriculture, the data needed
The availability of qualitative, geo-referenced, up-to-date data about agrochemical consumption levels in the member states-and more generally, about inputs and outputs in agriculture-is the sine qua non for defining strategies consistent with the stated objectives. These data, it should be noted, are already available to member state authorities and operators in the agri-food supply chains:
– the publicLand ParcelInformation Systems (LPIS) captures, records and represents qualitative and quantitative data, as part of theIntegrated Administration and Control Systems (IACS) for agricultural aid,
– registration of pesticides is always compulsory, in field notebooks, and is also given special attention in ‘integrated production’ certification schemes in agriculture (e.g. National Quality System Integrated Production, SQNPI, in Italy),
– certification schemes adopted by all agricultural enterprises supplying the GDO (e.g., Global GAP) in turn provide for complete transparency with detailed information on the agrochemicals used in each agricultural plot.
Interim conclusions
Data is king
. The European Commission, in proposing a reform on statistical data collection in agriculture, proposed that member states provide annual reports to Brussels. The quality of the data collected is crucial for the monitoring of so-called Integrated Pest Management, which should in theory ensure the lowest possible use of herbicides and pesticides but clashes with the overall data on their consumption in the EU, estimated at more than 350 thousand tons/year. (9)
The European Court of Auditors had already remarked in 2020 on the lack of data and the insufficiency of measures taken so far in the EU to mitigate the impact of pesticides on biodiversity. (10) No improvement can be expected without improving data collection and management, its integration with indicators of ecosystem health (soils and water), and scientific research.
#sdgs2030
The very idea of carbon farming cannot be separated from an exact analysis of the impact of individual crops-in relation to the agricultural practices adopted-on the environment and biodiversity.
#SDG3, Good Health and Well-being. #SDG12, Sustainable Consumption and Production. #SDG14, Life below Water. #SDG15, Life on Land.
Dario Dongo and Guido Cortese
Notes
(1) Marta Strinati. ICE Save the Bees has collected over one million signatures. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 9.10.21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/consum-attori/l-ice-salviamo-le-api-ha-raccolto-oltre-un-milione-di-firme
(2) Dario Dongo, Marina De Nobili. Special Farm to Fork, the strategy presented in Brussels on 5/20/20. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/speciale-farm-to-fork-la-strategia-presentata-a-bruxelles-il-20-5-20
(3) Dario Dongo. Farm to Fork, resolution in Strasbourg. Focus on pesticides and fertilizers. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10/23/21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/farm-to-fork-risoluzione-a-strasburgo-focus-su-pesticidi-e-fertilizzanti
(4) The non-reform of the CAP and the Coldirection distortion of Recovery Fund aid(#NextGenerationEU) in the NRP toward photovoltaic panels have unfortunately burned up the resources of the ecological transition in agriculture for the coming years
(5) Marta Strinati. Bioreport 2020, updated organic system scenario. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 4.1.22, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/mercati/bioreport-2020-scenario-aggiornato-del-sistema-biologico
(6) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Organic foods and the immune system, scientific evidence. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 11.4.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/alimenti-biologici-e-sistema-immunitario-evidenze-scientifiche
(7) European Parliament. Statistics on agricultural input and output. Legislative procedure in place, summary. https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/printficheglobal.pdf?id=723154&l=en
(8) Ashley Parson. Ministers Move to Make Pesticide Reduction Targets Meaningless, New Reports Reveal. Client Earth. 4.2.22, https://www.arc2020.eu/ministers-move-to-make-pesticide-reduction-targets-meaningless-new-reports-reveal/
(9) Louise Kelleher. 350,000 Tonnes of Pesticides Sold in EU Each Year – Still No Clear Picture of the Risks. Arc 2020. 10.2.20, https://www.arc2020.eu/350000-tonnes-of-pesticides-sold-in-eu-still-no-clear-picture-of-the-risks/
(10) Dario Dongo, Marina De Nobili. CAP, pesticides and biodiversity. EU Court of Auditors Report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 7/29/20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/pac-pesticidi-e-biodiversità-relazione-della-corte-dei-conti-ue