For the second year running, the Government has turned down a request from the NFU for special permission to use neonicotinoid pesticides, banned across Europe, to spray oilseed rape crops.
The National Farmers Union wanted permission to use two 'neonic' products on nearly 70,000 hectares of oilseed rape crop this spring, to ward off flea beetles. But the Expert Committee on Pesticides, which advises Defra, concluded that there was not enough evidence that the chemicals would be used appropriately. It is the second consecutive year that the NFU's request for an exemption (or 'derogation') has been turned down. Neonicotinoids were banned by the EU because of mounting evidence that they harm bees and other essential pollinators. Read more here.
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Published Monday 1 May 2017
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
