The chair of the Voluntary Initiative has warned against industry complacency in tackling the damaging effects of pesticides.

On his first official visit to Scotland, the new Voluntary Initiative Chair, Richard Butler, aired his views on the future direction of the initiative. Mr Butler warned that, although the scheme has had positive results, with over 20,000 spray operators having undergone training since its inception, farmers must be aware of contamination issues due to the tightening of the European Union water framework directive.

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Under the directive the Envrionment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency are increasingly scrutinising catchment areas for rivers and streams. If one chemical is found to be a problem in a certain area, it can be removed from the list of authorised chemicals nationawide.

Metaldehyde, a slug killer used in oilseed rape, is currently under specific scrutiny as traces of the chemical have been found in many watercourses throughout Britain. Pesticides have received some bad press over the past few weeks as their use has been blamed in part for loss of biodiversity in the UK, most recently in farmland birds and butterflies. Butterfly Conservation yesterday said its State of the UK's Butterflies 2011 report provided “Evidence that the European Union target to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010 was not met.”

The Voluntary Initiative was established by the farming and crop protection industry in 2001 to promote the responsible use of pesticides and avoid the introduction of a tax on pesticide use. Over its ten year existence, the initiative has attempted to promote best practice, deliver training and test machinery.

Commenting on Mr Butler's visit, NFUS Vice-President, and newly elected Chair of the VI in Scotland, John Picken said, "the general public can be assured that the farming community takes its obligations regarding the safe use of pesticides very seriously."

However, the European Commission has today called for more to be done to tackle run-off and mitigate the use of harmful pesticides in the face of modelling which suggests climate change will bring invasive species of insect, which may lead farmers to use more pesticides unless attitudes are changed.

Commission repeats calls for greening measures to prevent pesticide overuse

Research on pesticide contamination from the Helmholtz Centre in Leipzig, Germany suggests pollution from run-off in European waterways will worsen over the coming decades, especially in northern countries. The scientists behind the study have predicted that 40 per cent of Europe’s waterways could become degraded.

The researchers recommended increasing buffer zones and uptake of organic practices to mitigate the effects of climate change and chemical use. Commenting on the effects of rising temperatures and climate change, which will lead to insect migration, Matthias Liess, head of ecotoxicology at the Helmholtz Centre, said, "Manypeople underestimate the effects of pesticides on water quality. I would say that this is rather a conservative scenario, and it calls for action in terms of buffer strips – that is the most convenient and efficient measure."

Next year is the European Commission’s 'Year of Water.'

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