Halve the use of pesticides by 2030 compared to the period 2015-2017. This is the objective of the government which unveiled this Monday, October 30, the outlines of its new strategy which aims primarily to accelerate the development of alternative solutions to the use of chemical fertilizers. This, while a battle over the regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides is about to begin in the European Parliament.
It must be said that when it comes to trying to regulate the use of chemical fertilizers, France is not on its trial balloon. In 2008, the Fillon government launched a plan called “Écophyto”, the objective of which was to reduce the use of phytosanitary products by 50% in ten years. Despite the failure of this first attempt, a new plan took up the same objective seven years later, in 2015.
250 million more for this “new approach”
But today, the Ministry of Agriculture is counting on a “new”, more “global” approach, which is based on “accelerating the development of non-chemical and chemical alternative solutions”. The objective is to “better prepare for the potential withdrawal of certain active substances”. An outline which is divided into five parts, accompanied by “substantial new means”: an envelope of 250 million euros which is added to the sums allocated to Écophyto 2030 in the 2024 budget, currently under examination in Parliament .
The broad outlines of the new “Ecophyto 2030 strategy” were thus revealed to the members of the Strategic Orientation and Monitoring Committee (COS) of the “Ecophyto 2 +” plan, which includes representatives from the agricultural world, researchers and associations.
Pesticides in France
© / AFP
50% reduction by 2030
“We must move away from the logic which aims to replace one substance with another. We want to work on uses: what are the technical impasses and where should we accelerate the development and deployment of alternatives on the field”, indicated the entourage of the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau to our colleagues at L’Usine Nouvelle.
Note that the government bases itself on a reference indicator: the “Nodu” (Number of unit doses). This takes into account the quantities of pesticides sold and the surfaces treated, at the maximum approved doses. As an illustration, France went from a Nodu of 82 in 2009 to 120.3 in 2018 before returning to 85.7 in 2021. By 2030, the government hopes to reach the symbolic bar of 50 Nodu.
Task Forces, financial aid, training of farmers…
While boosting research, the government wants to strengthen training for farmers in order to familiarize them with less polluting practices. Financial support is also provided so that they can acquire equipment promoting agro-ecological practices. A window for this purpose is expected in 2024.
But for now, the priority is turning to the deployment of “task forces” in each agricultural sector, in order to develop action plans adapted to the particularities and needs of each sector in the coming months.
Also consulted on the question of “mirror clauses” which the government plans to bring to the European level in order to avoid any distortion of competition, the members of the COS have until November 30 to submit their comments on the text, before it will not be published in early 2024.
On the side of environmental defenders, the plan, without arousing great enthusiasm, does not seem to cause any tension. If it considers it “still vague”, particularly “at the level of performance and expected results”, the Générations futures association nevertheless welcomed in a press release “the fact that despite the attacks of the FNSEA (first agricultural union, Editor’s note), the objective of reducing the use of pesticides by 50% by 2030 remains relevant.