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Will beet growers be able to use neonicotinoids to protect their crop this year? Last year, they obtained a derogation when this substance has been banned in Europe since 2018. EIn 2020, however, the harvest was catastrophic. The exemption is currently under study.
Alexandre Quillet, farmer, is satisfied: she beet crop is good unlike last year. Indeed, 2020 was a dark year for beets. They lost their leaves, the fault of an aphid attack. The best weapon against these pests has been banned: it is neonicotinoid. To calm the anger of the farmers, The State therefore granted them, in 2021, a one-year exemption for the following year. “As long as we do not have alternative solutions, we will not be able to do without neonicotinoids if we want to be sure of having a normal result.“, proclaims Alexandre Quillet.
This is the work of researchers who test in greenhouses the types of beets that are resistant to aphids. LThe works, financed by the State and the agricultural sector, are promising, but will not be completed before 2024. It is indeed necessary to find solutions applicable to all of France. This does not convince the associations for the defense of biodiversity, because for them, alternatives would already exist. The exemption should be decided this Sunday after a month of public consultation.
Draft order for the reintroduction of neonicotinoids
Arguments of the beet industry
France Nature Environment website
Reporterre article
Alexandre Quillet is President of CGB Eure, President of the Technical Institute of Beet, and beet producer
Christian Huyghe is scientific director of agriculture at INRAE
Non-exhaustive list.