News Crop protection
Claim collateral damage GBM, who is responsible?
A German beekeeper wants to hold a farm responsible for damage it has suffered due to the use of plant protection products (PPP). Concentrations of glyphosate that exceed norms have been found in the honey and beeswax of bees. Who is responsible for that?
The court in Frankfurt am Oder has to consider this question in a civil case brought by beekeeper Sebastian Seusing. Seusing's 2019 honey and beeswax was unsaleable and had to be destroyed because the concentration of glyphosate was 152 times above the standard. 550 kilos of wax and honey were lost as a result, a loss of approximately €70.000 according to the beekeeper.
The beekeeper accuses the farm of careless actions. At the end of April, glyphosate was used on a plot near the beehives. The bees have taken that dust to the hive via the pollen and nectar, he explains.
Poor communication
The director of the agricultural company criticizes the beekeeper's lack of communication, in his view. He says he cannot know what is in the vicinity of the 3.000-hectare company and, if he had known about the cabinets, he could have taken measures. However, the beekeeper states that the bees have a range of 3 kilometers and that it is impossible to inform all farmers in that area every time the hives are moved.
It was also unclear whether the beehives were even allowed to stand where they were. Seusing had permission from the Berlin forest manager Berliner Forst, but they probably don't own the land. The owner - the real estate agency of Berlin - has just leased everything to the agricultural company. In order to gain clarity, the contracts have to be unraveled.
The verdict is expected September 14. If the beekeeper is in the right, this can be an important signal from the judge. Until now, beekeepers almost always pay for damage caused by outside factors.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
