Protecting more than just crops

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Safe and responsible use of pesticides: protecting the future of sustainable European agriculture

It’s a fact of life in agriculture: pests – insects, weeds and diseases – must be managed to avoid devastating loss to crops. Certain weather conditions also lead to an increase of pests, making it even more challenging for farmers to continue to produce healthy, high-quality and affordable food for consumers. This is true for all types of agriculture.

The factsWithout advanced pest, weed and disease control, up to half of Europe’s present food supply would be lost. The European crop protection industry’s Safe and Sustainable Use Initiative (SUI) works in partnership with local organizations and governments to help farmers and growers benefit from pesticides use in a manner that is safe for them and sustainable for the environment.

The focus of this project is to enhance the safe and responsible use of pesticides for a sustainable agriculture in Europe. Professional practices are key to effective management of risks when pesticides are used.

Practical advice• What PPE to wear when handling the product

• Where and how the product can be stored

• How to load, mix and apply the product responsibly

• How to prepare for collection and disposal empty and clean product containers

Protection The farmer’s safety is of the highest importance to the crop protection industry. Our technology equips farmers with tools to fight pests and diseases; when used correctly, pesticides are a safe and sustainable solution for agricultural productivity.

How does SUI work?Three clear objectives

The core responsibility of the crop protection industry is to help make agriculture as sustainable as possible by safeguarding the health and safety of farmers. The Safe and Sustainable Use Initiative provides farmers and operators with an easy-to-use toolbox that helps them benefit from the combined knowledge of the industry, local authorities and fellow technicians and farmers in order to enhance pesticide user safety and environmental compatibility.

Tailor-made recommendationsNational requirements and local farming conditions

The SUI programme is currently running in 16 European countries. Given regional differences, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Recommendations are tailor-made for each country so that they comply with national requirements and also respond to local farming and climatic conditions (for example, the farming environment in southern Italy is very different from the west of Ireland). But the principle remains the same: essential partnerships with the local stakeholders.

National pesticide industry associations, along with local authorities, farmers, distributors and advisors, have highlighted the necessity of enhancing the knowledge about wearing protective gear and have produced training materials for farmers and operators. The focus is on practical and easy-to-follow recommendations and advice on the correct gear to wear according label recommendations, best practices in effective product application, where and how to store the products, and how to correctly and safely clean and dispose of empty product containers. SUI is a full life-cycle training for farmers and operators on the very best, safest and most effective practices, from purchase through the use phase and the disposal of the product.

The project has three clear objectives:

Reduce pesticide exposure to the farmer by actively spreading innovative application techniques

Promote the use of personal protective equipment to safeguard the farmer

Reducing environmental impact with rinsing and correct disposal of empty containers and avoid tank mix surpluses.

SUI is currently running in 16 countries in cooperation with farming associations, stakeholders and in some cases with government bodies. We expect 17 countries in 2015 and 18 in 2016.

Continued monitoring of best practicesKey to evaluating success

It’s also important to continually evaluate how well these best practices are being implemented. Monitoring of uptake shows the SUI project has delivered some impressive results.

Where can I get practical information on SUI?

SUI on ecpa.eu

Surveys show that the percentage of growers

who wear protective gear in the

Ierapetra greenhouse region in Greece grew

from 35% in 2005 to 88% in 2008.

88%35%2005 2008

increased

The brochure with step by step recommendations from the projects

SUI library with docs from other countries

This is a model that works.

For more information, please contact:ECPA aisbl

6 Avenue E. Van Nieuwenhuyse1160 Brussels - BelgiumTel: +32 2 663 15 50Fax: +32 2 663 15 60E-mail: ecpa@ecpa.eu

www.ecpa.eu www.twitter.com/cropprotectionwww.facebook.com/cropprotection

The European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) represents the crop protection industry at the European level. Its members include all major crop protection companies and national associations across Europe.ECPA promotes modern agricultural technology in the context of sustainable development; to protect the health of humans and the environment, and to contribute towards an affordable healthy diet, competitive agriculture and a high quality of life.ECPA members support fair, science-based regulation as a guarantee to the consumer, and the crop protection user, of high standards and safe products.

The Safe and Sustainable Use Initiative provides expertise and promotes best practices for all professional pesticides users. It is a great example of how knowledge exchange and its transfer can provide appropriate solutions to current challenges and vastly increase uptake of good practices concerning plant protection products.

* IVA is the holder of the trademark.

October 2014

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