Europe’s leading manufacturer of off-patent plant protection solutions has called on farmers and agronomists to join a ‘movement’ designed to reinvigorate responsible use of agrochemicals in the face of increasing pressures linked to pesticides and water.

Makhteshim-Agan UK (MAUK), part of Adama Agricultural Solutions, is leading the initiative ahead of an increasing need to comply with EU legislation linked to water protection.

Paul Fogg, the company’s senior technical man with a career interest in water protection, reckons he can encourage farmers to adopt sustainable plant protection solutions, demonstrate responsible use and still be competitive in a global market.

On Thursday this week (Aug 21) he brought together in Westminster the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Environment Agency and Severn Trent Water to discuss with leading farming and agritrade editors how to bring agchem manufacturers, distributors, agronomists and farmers together in the same movement as water companies, government and regulators to face the approaching challenge.

“Agriculture is currently facing a number of significant challenges and water-related issues have the potential to be one of the most constraining when it comes to the long term availability of crop protection solutions, he says. “With the first round of Water Framework Directive (WFD) River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) coming to an end, it is clear that measures put in place to date have been insufficient to mitigate many of the non-target, water related impacts.  

“As a leading manufacturer of crop protection products and a committed advocate of integrated solutions, MAUK has taken the decision here in the UK to proactively examine how it develops products and labels in a way that meets the agronomic challenges farming faces.

“We want to reduce any non-target, water-related impacts and ensure that valuable active ingredients remain available to growers.

“One of the single biggest issues facing UK agriculture in the medium term is how to maintain the current armoury of active ingredients used in plant protection products,” says Dr Fogg. “This driver can put arable farmers on a collision course with legislators, regulators and water companies charged with reducing the threat of water pollution from farming sources.

“We want to encourage all links in the supply chain to participate in a Water Aware movement where they can think about the agronomic challenge, commercial business drivers and the potential non-target impacts of their decisions all at the same time.”

The challenge, he says, is how we balance these often conflicting priorities, with the skill being how manufacturers develop novel products and solutions; how agronomists give more sophisticated advice in the field; and how growers adapt to do things differently.

Water Aware does not replace the Voluntary Initiative (VI) or the industry-lead stewardship programmes. It’s certainly not a ‘let’s bash farmers over the head for polluting water’ campaign but a platform where participants in the crop protection chain meet the water industry and regulators to discuss and adopt a new philosophy when considering the responsible use of active substances.

We must all start doing things differently, to not only meet the challenges of producing more food from less land but also to maintain the current armoury of crop protection solutions, concludes Dr Fogg.

image expired