Schouten presents a vision on crop protection

Fewer crop protection products, more resilient plants and cultivation systems. That is how Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) envisions the future of crop protection.

This vision 'Future vision for crop protection 2030, towards resilient plants and cultivation systems' by Schouten is a dot on the horizon for 2030. This vision starts by stating that crop protection products are sometimes necessary, but that dependence on them makes the current system, among other things, very vulnerable. That is why, according to the minister, a change is necessary.

Collaboration with nature
That is why it is not crop protection products that should be central when it comes to crop protection, but rather resilient plants. Agriculture and nature must be more closely linked. New technologies and closer cooperation with nature should lead to, among other things, the prevention of the use of plant protection products as much as possible.

If crop protection products are still used in 2030, this may only be done in accordance with the principles of integrated crop protection. In addition, the minister writes that this should be done with virtually no emissions to the environment and virtually no residues. 

Search for alternatives
Schouten therefore believes it is important to make extra efforts now to find alternatives to the current package of resources. Breeding will play a major role in this, but the same applies to precision agriculture. "The ambition is for the Netherlands to become a leader in the field of sustainable crop protection, and this must also be a business model with which Dutch growers and parties distinguish themselves on the international market."

The next step in the vision is to draw up an implementation program. This should be ready after the summer recess of 2019. Among other things, this project includes the obligation to register pressure. The minister reports that she realizes that drift reduction is not only important. "More is needed to prevent emissions to surface water."

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

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