Save our farmers and health…
Article by AKEL MEP Giorgos Georgiou
21 June 2023
No pesticides or genetically modified products…because this is nothing other than a dead-end and misleading dilemma.
Nature is in danger and must be protected. Biodiversity loss and the degradation of the ecosystem are continuing at an alarming rate, to the detriment of people, the economy and the climate. The increase in extreme weather and climate phenomena has led to some irreversible impacts and this demands urgent action to restore degraded ecosystems so that the impact of climate change can be mitigated.
A major debate is currently underway in the European institutions, within the framework of the Green Transition, the “From the Farm to Home” Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy, on the occasion of the adoption of two Regulations: on the Restoration of Nature and on the Rational Use of Plant Protection Products.
Inter alia, the main objectives of these regulations are to reduce by 50% the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 2030 and to use less hazardous and non-chemical alternatives to control pests.
The proposal for a regulation on the rational use of plant protection products introduces, in general, a set of proposals and measures that have led, correctly, to reactions from various political groups in the European Parliament, but also agricultural movements across Europe and, more recently, in our country as well.
The objectives that have been set are ambitious. They entail many economic and social side-effects and it is necessary to apply transitional periods that will take into account certain factors and specific peculiarities:
● the geographical, agronomic and socio-economic conditions in the various member states, during which farmers will have access to the use of new alternative products.
● flexibility in the timeframes for achieving the objectives so as not to marginalize small farmers.
● the European Commission’s demand for extensive restrictions with regards the application of plant protection products for so-called “sensitive areas” (covering large agricultural areas across the EU) will have far-reaching consequences for agricultural production and food security in Europe, which is precisely why it should be based on a sound scientific and agronomic impact assessments.
We want cheap and healthy agricultural products on our tables that will be filled neither with pesticides, nor genetically modified.
For that reason, the EU institutions, when adopting the two regulations must take into account:
● the concerns and specificities in each EU member state.
● the need to minimise any impact on the production and prices of foodstuffs, meat, haloumi and other derived products.
● ensuring that the cost of the transition to the new state of affairs is borne by the EU itself and not by small farmers for the benefit of the big monopolies.
As MEP’s of AKEL, in cooperation with the rest of our Cypriot colleagues, we will make every effort, through our political groups, to protect the agricultural sector of our country and our fellow citizens, by tabling fair and balanced amendments…
We expect the Cypriot government to act in the same direction…
