PAN Europe - Issues

Issues

Farmers
Reliance on pesticides in the EU is increasing. But while the bulk of these chemicals are used in agricultural production, not all farmers are following the upward trend.

In Denmark, for example, farmers now use half as much pesticides as they did in 1985. Danish vegetables are now six times less contaminated than equivalent imports, water quality has doubled, and agricultural producers have experienced no significant economic impact. These highly encouraging outcomes are the direct result of Denmark's 'Pesticide Action Plan' - a governmental initiative first introduced over 20 years ago. Danish politicians set concrete pesticide reduction targets, introduced market incentives, and supported a comprehensive advisory service to work with farmers in using pesticides more effectively.

Following Denmark's success, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands have all established their own national action plans aimed at addressing the problems caused by pesticides.

In other countries too groups of farmers are now taking action. 65% of the total fruit area of French-speaking Belgium is now managed by members of GAWI, a not-for-profit farmers' association which GAWI's Fruitnet label

provides training in low pesticide production, helps farmers to avoid the most toxic substances, and then works to market and distribute their produce to retailers. Similar initiatives, such as Farmcare, run by the UK Cooperative Group, SAIO and IP-Suisse in Switzerland, and LAIQ in Italy have now been established elsewhere.