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Anger of farmers: controversy over the Ecophyto plan
Anger of farmers: controversy over the Ecophyto plan – (France info)
To get out of the agricultural crisis, the government notably announced a pause in the Ecophyto plan. This plan provided for a halving of pesticides in ten years, enough to shake ecologists and environmental defenders off their hinges.
The agricultural unions demanded it, the government gave in again on pesticides. A plan to reduce their use was planned, it is put on hold by Matignon. A short-term decision to get out of the crisis according to a doctor in ecology. “Instead of responding on the merits which is the fair price of agricultural production, the government is trying to divert attention by giving the impression to farmers that their problem would be environmental standards”explained Jean Olivier, doctor in ecology at the University of Toulouse.
Exposure to pesticides associated with several cancers
Drastically reduce phytosanitary products in agriculture, a commitment that is constantly postponed. In 2008, it was the adoption of the Ecophyto plan with the objective of reducing pesticides by 50% in ten years, which was a failure. The decision for a second Ecophyto plan was taken in 2015 with the same objective over ten years, another failure. The Ecophyto III plan was also supposed to reduce pesticides by 50% by 2030, it has just been put on hold. Exposure to pesticides remains associated with several cancers. According to environmentalists, this is yet another step backwards, detrimental to biodiversity.
