A weedy business

Rebecca Wills
BBC South West

Crop spraying - a necessary evil?

The use of pesticides in farming is a contentious issue.

Those who use them say they are necessary to ensure a good yield, the environmentalists say they are damaging, and organic farmers say they are unnecessary - we look at the case for and against.

Love them or loath them, following two votes in the European Parliament this week, they look set to stay for a while longer.

MEPs rejected a series of proposals regarding the use of pesticides, which the National Farmer's Union said could have severely hampered the productive capability of British Farming.

The draft European Union legislation proposes to ban aerial spraying with pesticides and restrict their use in public parks, gardens and sports areas.

The European Parliament has approved plans to prohibit such chemicals in buffer zones around water courses.

But some of the strongest measures in the directive were thrown out by MEPs.

These include...

• A 50% cut in the use of pesticides over the next 10 years
• The introduction of a pesticides tax
• The compulsory notification of neighbours prior to spraying taking place

It is a move which has been welcomed by many in the farming community.

Misunderstood

I think sanity has begun to prevail Michael Pearson

Michael Pearson who farms near Kingsbridge, told the Politics Show: "I think sanity has begun to prevail. Nobody minds the debate, but we need the answer at the end of the day that is right for Europe, not just for one of the lobby groups."

As a pesticide consultant, William Doidge is one of those who thinks the use of chemicals is misunderstood.

He said: "We are not just doing it as a blanket treatment to kill all, they are used in a controlled way for specific jobs, not just to poison the earth."

But the environmentalists disagree. Simon Brenman who speaks on behalf of the South West's Wildlife Trusts, claims that pesticides have had a devastating effect on animal populations.

He insists: "The impact of pesticides on human health and on wildlife has been horrible.

"Over the last 50 years we've really paid a very high price for so called cheap food and industrial agriculture, and all the pesticides end up, sooner or later, in water courses, it is affecting all the wild fish stocks that we've got, and it is affecting otters."

Another way

Because we're not allowed to use them, we've found other ways of solving our problems. Guy Watson

At Riverford Organic farm they have been successfully farming without the use of pesticides for well over 20 years.

The owner of the farm, Guy Watson, says its frustrating that MEPs didn't adopt the stronger approach to reduce the use of pesticides in agriculture.

If their suggested amendments become law, he fears there will continue to be a lack of research into other ways of controlling pests.

"Over the years," he said, "we have learnt a lot, I'm not saying we don't still make mistakes, and still occasionally it would be very welcome to use some agri-chemicals, but because we're not allowed to use them, we've found other ways of solving our problems.

"The problem with conventional agriculture is it is just to easy to reach for that chemical container and as a result not enough research goes into understanding the ecological impact of pesticides."

Food prices

What are the health implications?

Although pesticide user Michael Pearson says he is helping to keep the cost of food down.

"We would not be able to grow the crops we grow without controlling the weeds," said Michael Pearson, "without making sure the crop stands up, without controlling pests when we have them, and without controlling some of the diseases that unfortunately the weather gives us."

The proposals will now come under the scrutiny of the Council of Ministers - the next stage in the European Union's decision-making process.

Both farmers and environmentalists will be taking a very keen interest in the deliberations.

E-mail us in the online e-mail form below and let us know what you think.

Politics Show

The Politics Show wants to hear from you.

Join Lucie Fisher and Chris Rogers in the Politics Show on Sunday 28 October 2007 at 12:00 GMT on BBC One.

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