'Without glyphosate quality and safe food supplies will be under threat', farmers warn

Glyphosate is an active substance widely used in herbicides
Glyphosate is an active substance widely used in herbicides

European farmers warn in a meeting with EU Commissioner Andriukaitis that without the use of glyphosate, sustainable, quality and safe EU food supplies will be under threat.

The farmers warn of the huge costs to farmers and consumers if authorization of the herbicide is not renewed for 15 years.

Guy Smith, UK farmer and member of NFU, said: "Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the EU.

"I have been using it on my arable farm for 40 years to produce quality grain used for bread-making.

"Pre-harvest use in particular ensures the highest quality for bread and saves money and CO2 emissions compared to drying the crop after harvest.

"Losing glyphosate would cost the UK economy alone 630 million euros annually, making us less competitive to farmers in non-EU countries who have good access to these tools."

Supporting his statement, French farmer Christian Durlin from the FNSEA said: "Glyphosate enables me to harvest at the right time and have an optimal production to respond to high quality demand for exports and to remain competitive.

"This is particularly important in view of the increasing market volatility and extreme weather events we are experiencing these days."

Looking at the environmental costs, Finnish arable farmer Max Schulman from MTK underlined: "I have been using no till – a sustainable agricultural practice – since 1992 when producing malting barley and it’s with the use of glyphosate that I am able to do this in a cost effective manner to ensure my soils are in good condition.

"It is an important tool together with catch crops toprevent soil erosion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Importance of glyphosate in crop rotation

German farmer Bernhard Conzen from DBV went on to emphasise the importance of glyphosate in crop rotation to keep soils in good condition.

"It enables me to plant sugar beet in Spring directly after a catch crop and prevents soil erosion," Conzen said.

"Without it, I would need to use an extra 20-30 litres of fuel per hectare to mechanically till the land and around 15 to 18 more hours per hectare to do the same work," he added.

Wrapping up, Copa and Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen stressed: "Based on the unanimous mandate from all Copa & Cogeca members, we call for an extension of the approval of glyphosate for the next 15 years.

"Farmers need to have cost-effective and sustainable tools available to ensure safe, reliable and affordable food.

"We support EFSA’s work. EFSA gave a positive assessment on glyphosate and this should be followed.

"Therefore, we call Member States to vote in favour of this authorisation. Without glyphosate, farmers livelihoods would be threatened and food production jeopardised as no alternatives exist."