Only a few days before member states are scheduled to vote, on 25 October, on the proposal that the glyphosate licence in the EU be renewed for a period of ten years, a report published on Wednesday 18 October by PAN Europe (Pesticide Action Network – Europe) shows that sustainable alternatives to this highly controversial herbicide and to other herbicides already exist.
The report, commissioned by the Greens/EFA Group which is calling for a glyphosate-free future for the EU, was presented at the conference organised by the Greens/EFA in the European Parliament “How to really feed the world”.
“This work clearly shows that alternative methods to glyphosate and other herbicides already exist. When combined and integrated, they can successfully manage weed growth in agricultural fields, while maintaining crop yield, protecting soil biodiversity and fertility, helping against the development of herbicide-resistant species and restoring soil's carbon storage capacity”, said Angeliki Lysimachou, environmental scientist at PAN Europe. The ball, she argued, is now in the decision makers’ court to help farmers to make the transition to these methods.
Environment committee could call for end to use of glyphosate by 2020. The study provides grist to the mill of the Parliamentary environment committee which is due to vote on Thursday 19 October on a proposal for objection to the Commission’s plans.
The proposal on the table demands that the Commission abandon plans to re-authorise glyphosate for ten years and, instead, take alternative measures – not re-authorising non-professional use, not authorising use in agriculture if there are alternative sustainable methods of weed control and, in all cases, banning glyphosate from 15 December 2020. This presupposes partial re-authorisation of glyphosate until 15 December 2017 and transitional measures until 15 December 2020 to allow European farmers the time to find alternatives to glyphosate.
A few days previously, PAN Europe published a study showing that 45% of Europe’s top soil is contaminated by glyphosate and its toxic metabolite AMPA – produced from glyphosate degradation.
The PAN Europe study can be found at: http://bit.ly/2yx9rx (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)