From 11-12 February, VIRTIGATION participated in a highly impactful online event organised by the EU Commission on R&I in pesticides.
Strengthen collaboration among key pesticides actors
The EU Commission online event brought together more than 500 participants, including VIRTIGATION among the list of more than 30 EU-funded projects. As the new EU Commission has just started its mandate, this event came at a crucial place to strengthen collaboration among key pesticide actors in the EU. This included researchers, national & EU policymakers, plant protection authorities, industry and agricultural extension services. With this webinar, the EU Commission mobilised these stakeholders on the necessity of spearhead innovative plant protection solutions and novel application techniques in the R&I on pesticides.
As part of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy, there are currently only two non-legally binding pesticide reduction targets. Namely, a 50% reduction in the use and risk of chemical pesticides, and a 50% reduction in the use of more hazardous pesticides. The EU Commission publishes each year updates on progress at EU level towards these non-binding pesticide reduction targets.
VIRTIGATION coordinator at EU Commission event
The VIRTIGATION coordinator KU Leuven represented the project at a break-out session of the EU Commission online event, which gathered more than 150 participants. In the break-out session, VIRTIGATION and several other EU-funded projects presented their latest progress on R&I in pesticides, especially on suitable alternatives to chemical pesticides as e.g. biopesticides.
VIRTIGATION coordinator KU Leuven, represented by researcher Kumar Vasudevan, outlined the project’s progress attained so far in developing new biopesticide formulations for whitefly control in greenhouses, based on natural plant extracts.
Keynote on plant protection at a crossroads
The online event included also a spirited keynote provided by Ellen Richter from VIRTIGATION partner Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein-Westfalen (LNW). In her keynote, Richter from LNW talked about how plant protection in the EU had reached a crossroads, illustrated e.g. by severe challenges and limits in the swift and effective authorisation of plant protection products. In that regard, she notably called for faster and leaner authorisation procedures, more openness and flexibility as well as a stronger focus on regular authorisations from national and EU policymakers. Richter further highlighted the need for a better exchange between policymakers and plant protection services such as LNW, especially on evaluation criteria, labelling requirements and use conditions of plant protection products.
More on R&I in pesticides in the EU:
- EU Commission platform “Farmer’s toolbox for IPM”
- Overview on EU legislation on plant protection products
- Article by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on pesticides in the EU
