According to a new study published by the European Seed Association (ESA) on Thursday 12 January, restrictions put in place in the EU from 1 December 2014 on the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides which are fatal to bees have cost European oilseed rape producers €900 million per year and have also had a negative environmental impact.
The study, commissioned by ESA and carried out by the consultancy HFFA Research, attributes the economic loss to the combination of: - a negative yield impact of 4% resulting in 912,000 tons of missing harvest; - an average of 6.3% of harvest quality losses; - an average of 0.73 additional foliar applications per hectare of cultivated oilseed rape.
The additional foliar insecticide applications resulted in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions (estimated at 0.03 million tonnes CO2 equivalent) and 1.4 million m3 of additional water use annually. As a further negative environmental impact, the study highlights shifting oilseed rape production outside the EU which triggered conversion of more than 500,000 hectares of grassland and natural habitats to arable land equivalent to the loss of over 300,000 hectares of biodiversity-rich rainforest. Environmental NGOs Greenpeace and PAN Europe, which want a total ban on neonicotinoids, accuse the agriculture and seed production lobbies of inundating European decision-makers with false information in attempts to influence them (see EUROPE 11702). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)