'Watch out for arbitrariness in the admission of substances'

What consequences do the plans have for the agricultural sector and how is this viewed from the crop protection industry? Talked about that Boerenbusiness with sustainability lead Christy van Beek, biologicals and minor crops manager Jolanda Wijsmuller, and communications manager Jan Cees Bron, all three working at Bayer.  

Some of the goals in the Green Deal are: a 50% reduction in the use of crop protection products (GBMs) and 25% of the area under organic cultivation. A bad development for Bayer?
"We are a producer of GBMs and have a direct commercial interest in this, we are very clear about that," says Van Beek. "But we feel a broader responsibility for the production of sufficient and high-quality food. GBMs play an important role in this."

"It is sometimes said from the organic sector that a lot can still be gained by preventing food waste," says Wijsmuller. "GBMs can also help with this. By keeping the crop healthy you (partly) prevent storage problems and improve the storability and shelf life of the end product."

According to Van Beek, a large part of the discussion can be traced back to how intensity is expressed. This can be done per hectare or per kilo of harvested product. "The Netherlands is a fertile delta with relatively high yields per hectare and many different, intensive and relatively small crops. By only focusing on the kilos of active substance per hectare, high-productive agriculture is hit much harder than companies in extensive regions. Instead, you would can better compare the use of GBMs with the kilos of harvested product."

"The underlying question is: how do we organize the land? We want to live, work, recreate, nature and food production in a limited space. Agriculture is simply not nature and has an impact on the environment. We must minimize that impact. With Measures such as those in the Green Deal reduce yields per hectare and you ultimately need more land to produce the same amount of food. We have created test fields here at the Forward Farm with the amount of wheat needed to bake ten loaves of bread. we show policymakers and other interested parties how much extra land is needed to, for example, grow organically and achieve the same yield compared to a conventional cultivation system. Studies by, for example, the USDA, the WUR and the University of Kiel also show this. If the EU continues the Farm-to-Fork and biodiversity strategy in its current format, we will not only be even less self-sufficient, but we will shift part of production outside the EU. This makes you vulnerable to crop failures, export restrictions, etc. You often notice that people who are further away from the agricultural sector are not sufficiently aware of this."

The use of GBMs is under pressure and you hear a lot of resistance to glyphosate in the public debate. Why do you invest so much time and money in re-registration?
"Glyphosate is a very important product for global agriculture. It is extremely effective against weeds, but also has a relatively favorable environmental profile. Commercially, glyphosate - which is sold under the brand name Roundup - is certainly not the best in the Benelux. most important resource for Bayer," says Bron. "The discussion surrounding glyphosate must be seen in a broader perspective. It is not just about our commercial interest, but about the credibility of the admission process."

Van Beek adds: "Glyphosate is probably the most extensively researched active substance used in the agricultural sector. The dossier that has now been submitted for renewed authorization contains 180.000 pages. The substance has been considered safe for humans by the authorization authorities for decades. , animal and environment. According to the authorization authorities of four countries, who examined the file at first instance, it meets all the criteria to maintain European authorization. We are confident that the European authorities, EFSA and ECHA, will make this assessment will take over. Then it will be the Member States' turn. Our fear is that admission will become a political plaything at that point. The studies submitted for re-registration are paid for by the industry, but are carried out by independently accredited laboratories that, according to legally established guidelines examine the substance. If unforeseen effects occur, these will also be added to the file. For the environmental movement, glyphosate/Roundup has become a symbol of the crop protection industry and of large-scale agriculture, which is strongly opposed. Various environmental clubs conduct their own research into crop protection products. There are several examples where the results are picked up by national media."

"Such studies often require some explanation," says Bron. "For example, the report that glyphosate has been found in wine. If you look further at the concentration, it often turns out that not much is wrong. For example, you have to drink hundreds or thousands of bottles of wine in one day before it becomes a problem. It is a shame that We are often only asked to respond at the last minute and are hardly given time to interpret the results. In addition, the quality of these studies is often substandard."

“As a sector, and not just Bayer, we guard against arbitrariness in the admission of GBMs,” Van Beek continues. "As an industry, we are making major commitments for a long term with many uncertainties. According to market research agencies, the development of a new active substance costs hundreds of millions of euros. If a product is safe and complies with the rules, it must be authorized. That principle must be adhered to In addition to the major negative impact on farmers and the environment, what will be the next active substance that the environmental movement is targeting? Clear and strict rules without arbitrariness ultimately benefit everyone. A scientific and therefore predictable The process also ensures that companies dare to invest in innovative solutions."

Is the availability of an effective and sufficiently broad package of resources a concern at Bayer?
"There are currently approximately 450 registered and authorized active substances," says Wijsmuller. "Of these, approximately 340 must be assessed before 2025. If we continue the effects of the European plant protection regulation of the past three years, European farmers will have 2025% fewer chemically active substances available in 50 than they have now. A huge clear-cut. which will create many bottlenecks. The European regulator has tightened the requirements considerably in recent years. For example, if there is an indication that a certain substance has hormone disrupting properties, then a risk assessment is no longer carried out in Europe. How big is that risk? is no longer relevant. Compare it with sharks in the sea. There are sharks in the sea, so you shouldn't swim there, you could say. You are only ignoring the fact that the chance that you are for the Dutch being attacked on the coast is nil, while in Australia, for example, this is a real danger."

"The EU thus deviates considerably from other parts of the world where a different assessment is made - where not only danger but also risk is considered - and we are putting our agricultural sector at a disadvantage," says Wijsmuller. "This is also the case with new breeding techniques, for example. Crispr Cas is a more targeted and faster way of traditional breeding. According to European legislation, it falls under genetic modification and can therefore de facto not be used in the EU. Due to that de facto ban As an EU, we are missing the connection with developments in the rest of the world, where this new technology is being seized with both hands. We do notice that the position on this in European politics is shifting."

Are green resources that we hear a lot about now the answer to a shrinking supply of resources?
"I don't expect that," says Wijsmuller. "Green products are a good addition to the toolbox. But as a farmer you want to keep more options open. In a dry, sunny spring, mechanical weed control is very effective. This does not mean that there is no need for herbicides for, for example, application in the row or for a correction, or for use in wet years when mechanical hoeing is not possible. This also applies to some green means. They only really come into their own if they can be used as a supplement to traditional means. In addition, we must also do not overestimate the effectiveness of the green products, which is often slightly less. The list of new authorizations contains a relatively large number of green products. However, there are many products that are based on the same bacterial species, for example. In terms of working principle, the group of new substances are therefore limited. I think we have to be careful about allowing green substances through an abbreviated procedure - which is also occasionally the case. It would help us a lot if resources were generally examined within the agreed timeframes, which is unfortunately not the case at the moment. Better genetics can also help, and Bayer is also trying to accelerate externally detecting new active substances that can pass the authorization procedure through the Testing4Ag program. But ultimately we think the admissions process should be less about danger and more about risk."