Jean Charles BOCQUET Director general European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) March 11 th & 12 th, Brussels Crop Protection European Regulatory Conference introductory comments

Crop protection industry :a responsible sector ! Facing regulatory burdens Committed to fight illegal pesticides Looking for solutions

Today’s agriculture must be sustainably productive Europe has the responsibility to remain a world leader in agriculture And a regulatory framework that fosters innovation is crucial to achieving these goals for the future

Significant progress in products profile! ( a.i., formulations, packaging) Solutions provider for any model of competitive and sustainable farming model One of the most regulated sectors A global R&D sector (seeds,classical chemistry, natural imitative chemistry, bio solutions, decisions making tools) Crop Protection sector: a committed and responsible industry

More targeted ai’s: smaller doses Use rates g/ha => Average use rates 25 times lower today than 65 years ago

Products 6 times safer Tox profile improvment Année de première publication 0,01 0,0001 0,1 0, ADI mg/kg/j

Hungry for Change our stewardship journey Enhance biodiversity Protect & conserve water Increase food safety, quality & affordability Improve farmer & public health

…BUT...

Concern!! Impact of hazard-based legislation Herbicides Insecticides Fungicides ED Bee RA Water Impact on Crop Protection and Agriculture Water ED Bees Zonal Comp. Assess Attack on Agritech, R&D, Innovation EFSA / SANTE Health IPR

10 years+ and > €250 million for a new solution EU is losing attractiveness (33% of global CPP R&D focus in early 80’s; only 7.7% today!) Current regulation not effective Delays in setting the rules (ED…) Precautionary approach ( NNI’s…) Industry efforts and progress not fully recognized and taken into account Why those concerns?

1.Science-based policy making 2.Smarter and better regulation 3.Consistency 4.Innovation 5.Agricultural productivity & competitiveness Our industry’s vision

More science and pragmatism: decisions based on risk assessment and management supported by scientific evidence and expertise Check the workability of any regulation before proposing new ones! Work together: involve key actors and mobilize partners (e.g. farmers) Inform the debate for the 1107/2009 and 396/2005 revision How to address those concerns?

Agri-food chain coalition : Raise awareness about modern agriculture and the importance of innovation EFSA impacted industries: cooperation & proposals Agri-Food chain roundtable on CPP’s Minor uses coalition Agri-Food Chain initiatives

Let’s be sure that the collective efforts are not undermine by illegal practices! The case of illegal pesticides…

Health risks to farmers & operators applying them Potential to damage or destruction of the treated crop, ruining farmer’s livelihood Unknown residues in food crops Environmental risks to wildlife, water and soil Environmental waste problems in terms of disposal Potential damage & risks caused by counterfeit and illegal Pesticides

Counterfeit and illegal Pesticides Protect Yourself (1) 1.Label must be readable in your language –permanently attached to the pack –with name of importer and licence holder –with complete instructions in local language  These are legal requirements and one of the guarantees of authentic product! 2.Buy Pesticides from reputable suppliers –with Good Sales Practice Certificate (if applicable in your country) –request licence from “virtual“ suppliers  The right quality can only be obtained from the right supplier! 3.Always Ask for an Invoice and/or Receipt  If your invoice names a different product to the one delivered, insist on a new invoice or return the product to the retailer

Protect Yourself (2) 4.Ask your supplier for information on security & protection tools used by manufacturers 5.Be careful with extraordinary special deals and/or excessive discounts  If a deal looks too good to be true there is probably a good reason! 6.In case of doubts contact your plant protection inspector  Report illegal or suspicious pesticides to relevant authorities to stop criminals defrauding farmers! Counterfeit and illegal Pesticides

To understand the blockers and future opportunities, there is a need to review 1107/2009 & 396/2005 We need a detailed review of the legislation that will: –Evaluate the implementation of the current legislation –Review options for future improvements Proposals to change the legislation should be based on the conclusions of the review But we now need to focus on improving the workings of the current legislative frameworks  We look forward to the Conference discussion on these issues!! Improving the regulatory process

IT’S not TOO LATE! Let’s give Europe the future it deserves for Agriculture!

Thank you for your attention