Jean Charles BOCQUETDirector general

European Crop Protection Association (ECPA)

March 11th & 12th, Brussels

Crop Protection European Regulatory Conferenceintroductory comments

Crop protection industry :a responsible sector !

Facing regulatory burdens

Committed to fight illegal pesticides

Looking for solutions

Today’s agriculture must be sustainably productive

Europe has the responsibility to remain a world leader in agriculture

And a regulatory framework that fosters innovation is crucial to achieving these

goals for the future

Significant progress in products profile! ( a.i., formulations, packaging)

Solutions provider for any model of competitive and sustainable farming model

One of the most regulated sectors

A global R&D sector (seeds ,classical chemistry, natural imitative chemistry, bio solutions, decisions making tools)

Crop Protection sector: a committed and responsible industry

Hungry for Changeour stewardship journey

Enhance biodiversity

Protect & conserve water

Increase food safety, quality & affordability

Improve farmer

& public health

…BUT...

Concern!!Impact of hazard-based legislation

Herbicides

Inse

cticid

es

Fungicides

ED

Bee RA

WaterImpact on

Crop Protection

and Agriculture

Water

ED

Bees

ZonalComp. Assess

Attack on Agritech,

R&D, Innovation

EFSA / SANTE

Health

IPR

• 10 years+ and > €250 million for a new solution

• EU is losing attractiveness (33% of global CPP R&D focus in early 80’s; only 7.7% today!)

• Current regulation not effective

• Delays in setting the rules (ED…)

• Precautionary approach ( NNI’s…)

• Industry efforts and progress not fully recognized and taken into account

Why those concerns?

1. Science-based policy making

2. Smarter and better regulation

3. Consistency

4. Innovation

5. Agricultural productivity & competitiveness

Our industry’s vision

• More science and pragmatism: decisions based on risk assessment and management supported by scientific evidence and expertise

• Check the workability of any regulation before proposing new ones!

• Work together: involve key actors and mobilize partners (e.g. farmers)

• Inform the debate for the 1107/2009 and 396/2005 revision

How to address those concerns?

Agri-food chain coalition : Raise awareness about modern agriculture and the importance of innovation

EFSA impacted industries: cooperation & proposals

Agri-Food chain roundtable on CPP’s

Minor uses coalition

Agri-Food Chain initiatives

Let’s be sure that the collective efforts are not undermine by illegal practices!

The case of illegal pesticides…

• Health risks to farmers & operators applying them • Potential to damage or destruction of the treated

crop, ruining farmer’s livelihood • Unknown residues in food crops • Environmental risks to wildlife, water and soil • Environmental waste problems in terms of disposal

Potential damage & risks caused by counterfeit and illegal Pesticides

Counterfeit and illegal Pesticides

Protect Yourself (1)

1. Label must be readable in your language– permanently attached to the pack– with name of importer and licence holder– with complete instructions in local language These are legal requirements and one of the guarantees of

authentic product!

2. Buy Pesticides from reputable suppliers– with Good Sales Practice Certificate (if applicable in your country)– request licence from “virtual“ suppliers The right quality can only be obtained from the right supplier!

3. Always Ask for an Invoice and/or Receipt If your invoice names a different product to the one delivered,

insist on a new invoice or return the product to the retailer

Protect Yourself (2)

4. Ask your supplier for information on security & protection tools used by manufacturers

5. Be careful with extraordinary special deals and/or excessive discounts

If a deal looks too good to be true there is probably a good reason!

6. In case of doubts contact your plant protection inspector

Report illegal or suspicious pesticides to relevant authorities to stop criminals defrauding farmers!

Counterfeit and illegal Pesticides

To understand the blockers and future opportunities, there is a need to review 1107/2009 & 396/2005

We need a detailed review of the legislation that will:–Evaluate the implementation of the current legislation–Review options for future improvements

Proposals to change the legislation should be based on the conclusions of the review

But we now need to focus on improving the workings of the current legislative frameworks

We look forward to the Conference discussion on these issues!!

Improving the regulatory process

IT’S not TOO LATE!

Let’s give Europe

the future it deserves for Agriculture!

Thank you for your attention

www.ecpa.eu