LTO Nederland, Greenport Holland (GPH) and Branche organization Akkerbouw (BOA) are positive about the fact that the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ) is now taking new steps in the field of crop protection.
In a letter to the House of Representatives, the Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that it wanted to make the resource package more green. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is also working on an adjustment of the authorization method for crop protection products for so-called 'minor applications'.
Especially in the cultivation of bulbs and trees, progress can now be made with more effective crop protection and greening of the resources package.
According to LTO, GPH and BOA, more steps are needed for small applications in other open cultivation, floriculture under glass and organic cultivation. All in all, a lot still needs to be done to make sufficient (green) crop protection products available on a structural basis.
The 11 most current bottlenecks
In November LTO, GPH and BOA played cards in a burn letter already addressed the 11 most acute bottlenecks in crop protection to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Many crops in the Netherlands are small-scale in nature compared to large crops such as wheat, sugar beet and potatoes, and that small-scale poses problems in the authorization of plant protection products for, among other things, flower bulbs, trees, perennials, greenhouse horticulture and grass seed.
Innovation lags behind
A (expensive) procedure must now be followed for new authorizations. In small crops, this investment is often disproportionate to the limited application. As a result, innovation in the package of resources often lags behind in small crops, while existing resources disappear more quickly. LTO, GPH and BOA have recently urged EZ and NVWA to find solutions.
This has led to the following measures:
• A list of small crops is being worked on in Europe. It is expected that important crops for the Netherlands, such as flower bulbs, trees and perennials and floriculture under glass, will be classified as minor crops;
• The Netherlands will be working with so-called 'crop groups': products will then no longer be permitted for the cultivation of dahlias, for example, but at the level of 'summer-flowering bulbous and tuberous plants'. This covers many underlying crops;
• Manufacturers can apply for small crop groups, without the obligation to do research for other crop groups;
• Integrated crop protection (IPM) is now included in the assessment of applications for exemptions.
Let go of limits on small crops
For small crops, the Netherlands wants to continue to apply a limit of 5.000 hectares for open crops and 1.000 hectares for covered crops, respectively. LTO, GPH and BOA have been campaigning for the abandonment of these boundaries for some time now. Because now the problem of a (too) small package of resources persists, for example in floriculture under glass and in the cultivation of grass seed and legumes.
Urgency continues to be high
LTO, GPH and BOA see the letter from EZ as a first step towards an effective package of crop protection products. The urgency in agriculture and horticulture is as high as ever; the organizations therefore assume that the solutions mentioned will be implemented expeditiously and in close consultation with the sector. In addition, the organizations will continue to talk with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to find a suitable answer for outstanding bottlenecks.
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