The Crop Protection Association has welcomed the Government’s Natural Environment White Paper as a key opportunity for farmers and environmental groups to work more closely together to boost food production and improve the environment.
A central challenge highlighted in the White Paper is the need to overcome and reconcile potential tensions between agricultural and environmental interests in achieving society’s long-term needs for food security alongside our ambitions for healthy wildlife, water, soil and landscape.
’The Government is right to focus on the economic significance of environmental goods, so that the true value of nature can be factored into the decisions made by businesses, regulators and public alike,’ said CPA chief executive Dominic Dyer. ’We welcome the White Paper’s recognition that farmers and land managers play a vital role in managing more than 70% of England’s land area.
’The crop protection industry has a proven track record of working in partnership with government, environmental groups and voluntary organisations to deliver positive environmental outcomes for the protection of wildlife, water and habitat.
’Since 2001, for example, the Voluntary Initiative has helped raise standards of pesticide stewardship across many thousands of hectares in the UK, with significant benefits for water quality and enhanced farmland biodiversity.
’CPA has also initiated an information campaign in partnership with RSPB to promote the responsible use of garden care chemicals, and we have joined forces with the NFU and British Bee Keepers Association to highlight best practice in protecting bees and other pollinators when using insecticides.
’The economic value of crop protection to food production is well documented. Without pesticides to keep weed, pest and disease pressures in check, crop yields would fall and food prices would rise. A Cranfield University report last year estimated that agricultural pesticides save UK consumers about ’70bn a year in food costs.
’This White Paper now provides an important opportunity to reinforce the economic value of sustainable, efficient food production in environmental terms, and to highlight the contribution of successful cross-industry stewardship initiatives as a blueprint for the central challenge of improving the environment and increasing food production,’ concluded Mr Dyer.
