Farming's Voluntary Initiative has played its part in rivers clean up

The farming and crop protection industries should take some credit for the recent headlines that river quality has improved across the country, says the Crop Protection Association.

The Environment Agency’s announcement that England’s rivers are the healthiest for over 20 years, and otters, salmon and other wildlife are returning to many rivers for the first time since the industrial revolution reflects a very broad approach to river management and pollution control. However, the farming industry has certainly made a significant contribution.

’For the past decade, we have worked together on the Voluntary Initiative to reduce the impact of pesticide use on water quality across the UK through a combination of training and advice. The most recent monitoring results from sensitive catchments show that voluntary efforts to implement best practice in pesticide use can deliver real results,’ said Dr Anne Buckenham, Director of Policy at the Crop Protection Association (CPA).

Independent monitoring by the Environment Agency compared trends between 2006-7 and 2009-10 in untreated water. Analysis shows a statistically significant reduction in indicators of overall pesticide levels of between 26% and 31%. The indicators are based on six pesticides which have been monitored consistently over the four years in six priority Catchment Sensitive Farming catchments.

’The overall evidence from this study suggests that good progress has been made by the partnership between The Voluntary Initiative and Catchment Sensitive Farming,’ said Jo Kennedy of the Environment Agency. ’However, there is no room for complacency as significant challenges do remain, especially in drinking water catchments.’

While results from 2011 have yet to be fully analysed, early indications are that the downward trend appears to be continuing in 2011.

’These indications of progress are really encouraging,’ said Dr Buckenham. ’They reflect the strong commitment from a wide range of organisations and individuals who have supported The Voluntary Initiative and helped deliver advice and new techniques to farms across the UK, along with the willingness of Britain’s farmers to rise to the challenge of protecting water and preserving essential crop protection products.’