“Trying to reduce the use of plant protection products, France intends to double as much work on the development of biocontrol methods. The country seeks to develop favorable rules for the industry at the European level, ”reports EURACTIV France.
A plant protection technique known as biological control uses natural mechanisms, such as carnivorous insects that infect parasites and fungal bacteria, as well as substances derived from natural plants, animals or minerals.
And although biocontrol is by no means a wonderful solution to reduce phytosanitary products, it should make a significant contribution to this.
A method of pest control is the scattering of entomophages - insects that feed on representatives of other species. The difficulty of use is delivery to the field alive and even distribution.
Sector development was placed at the top of the political agenda at the sixth annual biocontrol meetings held on January 21 in Paris.
Didier Guillaume, the Minister of Agriculture, has promised a sector development plan that will include support measures for the next 5 years.
The accelerated development of this sector was not accidental. Pesticide sales figures published in 2018 seem counterproductive given that France intends to halve pesticide use by 2025.
The Minister of Ecology, Elizabeth Bourne, also called it "an agricultural model that has completely outlived itself today."
- Recall that earlier France was disappointed in winter wheat, but in parallel with this, it collected a record crop of soybeans.
- It became known that from July 2020 some plant pesticides will be banned in Switzerland.
- We also reported earlier that French farmers are outraged by restrictions on pesticide use.
