“It would be madness to continue to use it”, assures Générations Futures

“It would be folly to continue to use” neonicotinoids, said Wednesday, February 8 on franceinfo François Veillerette, spokesperson for the association for the defense of the environment Générations Futures, while farmers demonstrate in Paris to protest against the “constraints” affecting agriculture, in particular restrictions on the use of pesticides.

On January 23, the government announced that it was banning neonicotinoids for beet cultivation, after a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union found any derogation illegal.

franceinfo: The argument of the farmers who are demonstrating this morning is to explain that France is shooting itself in the foot compared to its European neighbors under pressure from environmentalists. How do you answer them?

Francois Veillerette: First of all, it was not the ecologists who banned this derogation, even if we would have liked to be able to do so. But it was the European courts that clarified that the derogation for use on beet seeds coated with neonicotinoids was illegal. So we gave waivers for the previous two years that were illegal and giving a third would have been illegal. It is justice that speaks and the European Court says the law, period.

France is now the only country in the world to have banned all neonicotinoids. What will farmers be able to do when faced with beet yellows? A third of their harvest had been destroyed in 2020 due to the proliferation of aphids vectors of jaundice

French farmers had asked for a derogation to use the two most dangerous, that is to say imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, which are both banned in Europe. Perhaps if they had requested a derogation for other products not banned in Europe, they would not have been sanctioned by the Court of Justice of the European Union. They were probably too greedy and today they are paying for it. They had also been told that there were other solutions, including non-chemical ones. But today, I don’t see how we could not respect the law at the level of French agriculture.

But these solutions are not yet ready, according to beet growers…

Yes, but I remind you that ANSES, which is a completely official and serious organization, has in several reports recalled that there are a certain number of solutions which are employable and effective. Of course, neonicotinoids are the atomic weapon, they will absolutely kill all the insects that will bite the plant, but these are products that are absolutely dangerous for the environment and health.

Environmental pollution is widespread by these products. It is absolutely necessary to stop because it contributes in a massive way to the impoverishment of biodiversity, especially in rural areas.

Francois Veillerette

at franceinfo

There is talk in some places of a loss of 50% to 70% of the presence of insects, which has an impact on the birds. And I remind you that agriculture depends largely on biodiversity. It would therefore be madness to continue in this direction. There are non-chemical alternatives that are being developed and should be encouraged. And in the meantime, we must help the producers, possibly financially this year and thereafter if they have more difficult years.

Is the French sugar beet sector not in danger of disappearing when other countries such as Germany, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Finland or even Great Britain will be able to use at least a neonicotinoid this year? What is the point of banning it in France if it is to import sugar that comes from foreign beets?

There are also European countries that voluntarily abandon the derogation. This is the case of Belgium which is a country producing a lot of beets, with high yields. They have decided to voluntarily abandon their derogation this year. And then afterwards, there are other countries which still have derogations and will not be able to use either imidacloprid or thiamethoxam but which use products which are not banned at European level. But these countries use these products in sprays in very specific places.

In France, we systematically chose the most toxic products, which was the worst agronomic choice and an aberration since you are going to coat the beet seeds everywhere, even in places where there will be no least presence of aphids at all.

Francois Veillerette

at franceinfo

The Germans, for example, are a little smarter than us. They targeted a product that is not banned at European level and in the form of a spray just where it is needed. However, we are not going to support this type of product because they are still dangerous. But they are still less toxic than those chosen in France and above all, they are used in a less systematic and therefore more intelligent way.