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Pesticides: what is changing about Hri1, the European indicator now used to measure their use in France?
Pesticides: what is changing about Hri1, the European indicator now used to measure their use in France? – (France 2)
The Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, announced a change in the indicator to measure the use of pesticides in fields, Wednesday February 21. The Nodu thus gives way to a European indicator, the Hri1.
French farmers demanded a change in the calculation method concerning the use of pesticides. The new rule announced by the government on Wednesday February 21 should make farmers’ efforts in this area more visible according to a cereal grower, who told France 2 that he had greatly reduced its use: “It will show that French agriculture is practically the best student in the class at European level.”
Environmental associations denounce a sham
The current indicator, Nodu, is criticized for not taking into account harmfulness, but only the quantity of products sold and hectares treated. The new European tool, the Hri1, adds a dangerousness index to the calculation for each product used. If we base ourselves on Nodu, the use of pesticides between 2011 and 2021 is stable. With the new indicator, it fell by 33% over the same period. For environmental associations, this is a sham. “The European indicator does not show whether we use more or less pesticides”explains Thomas Lesperrier, head of the transition division at France Nature Environnement.
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