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PESTICIDESAND

SUSTAINABLE
AGRICULTURE

This leaflet provides a brief overview


of some of the many crop protection
industry initiatives contributing
to sustainable productive agriculture.

Sustainable agriculture
Global agriculture is faced with many
challenges. It has to produce more
raw materials to satisfy the increasing
and diversifying demands of a growing
world population, it has to contribute
to economic prosperity and social wellbeing in rural areas, and it has to preserve
natural resources such as land, water and
biodiversity.
A more productive and resource efficient
agriculture mitigates the problems
associated with these challenges, because
it enables us to have more of everything
more food, more feed, more non-food
crops, more biodiversity and natural
habitats while at the same time reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.

Low input farming averages 31% lower


yields than productive agriculture in the
EU. Efficient production technologies
are imperative to allow us to close
yield gaps and ensure productivity;
however, society must use these
technologies in a sustainable manner to
ensure that agriculture plays a central
role in delivering socio-economic and
environmental sustainability.

Pesticides make an
important contribution
to sustainable productive
agriculture
AND WERE WORKING TO MAKE IT BETTER

Health

We work to protect the health of farmers


and the environment
The crop protection industry is working
with local authorities and research
centres to promote best practices for the
safe and sustainable use of pesticides,
and product packaging.
Our Safe and Sustainable Use Initiative
provides farmers with information,
training and recommendations on the
use of protective clothing; under our
Container Management Systems project,
participating countries enjoy a high
degree of success in ensuring a maximum
of used pesticide containers are recycled.

Recycling

15,500 tonnes

of containers in 2012 saved

125,000m

of landfill

In just three years our


Safe and Sustainable
Use Initiative has
more than doubled
the number of Greek
farmers that
use appropriate
protective gear.

Health

Our Safe and Sustainable Use Initiative contributes to


safeguarding farmer health and protecting the environment
The Safe and Sustainable Use Initiative
(SUI) sees ECPA work with regional
authorities and other partners to
safeguard farmers health by promoting
the use of protective clothing and
equipment, training, and communicating
the benefits of innovative pesticide
application techniques.
Guidance is tailored to best-fit local
agricultural practices and regional climatic
conditions.
Our initiation and support of Container
Management Systems helps protect
the environment by reducing the need
to send empty pesticide containers
to landfill, and protects health with
guidance on the correct management
of used packaging.

Germany and France are home to two of


the longest-running CMS projects; both
so successful that businesses have been
established especially to deliver CMS.

16 countries are

participating in the Safe


and Sustainable Use
Initiative
The Container
Management Systems
project collects up to

70% of used containers


in several of the

31 countries where it
operates

Biodiversity
Benefits for biodiversity
Productive, resource efficient agriculture
is beneficial for biodiversity. It is necessary
to protect both harvests and biodiversity,
and through the INSPIA project, working
with partners, we will demonstrate that
best management practices can meet
the challenge of providing sufficient safe
and affordable food whilst preserving
our natural environment and promoting
farmland biodiversity.

Productive, resource efficient


agriculture saves space for
biodiversity. This, coupled with
biodiversity friendly management
practices, enables Europe to
meet both food production and
conservation targets.
Without productive agriculture in
the EU with serious implications for
biodiversity an estimated additional

38

million
hectares

of agricultural land would be required


to achieve the same agricultural
output this is a land area roughly

The INSPIA project will demonstrate


that the high agricultural productivity
required to meet todays food production
challenge is compatible with management
practices that promote biodiversity.

12 times
BRUSSELS

the size of Belgium

X12

Biodiversity

We work with partners to promote resource efficient


agriculture for the benefit of harvests and biodiversity
INSPIA, the European Index for
Sustainable Productive Agriculture, is the
collaborative effort of ECPA, the European
Conservation Agriculture Federation
(ECAF) and the Institute for Sustainable
Agriculture (IAD).
The INSPIA project demonstrates best
practices for maintaining agricultural
productivity whilst promoting biodiversity.
With a selection of verified indicators and
an online monitoring tool, INSPIA provides
farmers reference and guidance for the
implementation and improvement of
management practices that are beneficial
to both the harvest, and local biodiversity.
The results of the INSPIA project, and onfarm demonstrations of the implementation
and value of best management practices
will be used to communicate the
importance of managing agriculture for
both productivity and biodiversity.

One of the industrys


newest projects, launched
in

2013

Includes more than

20 best management

practices

27 indicators are used to

address socio-economic and


environmental sustainability

50

To date, more than


farms in Spain, France,
Belgium and Denmark are
engaged with the INSPIA
project

Water

Working to keep pesticides out of water


As awareness of the importance of clean
water increases, so too do efforts to keep
water clean. Constant improvements
in product formulation, the adoption
of best management practices, and
improvements in application technology
all help to safeguard water quality.
Since 2005 and the first launch of the
TOPPS initiative we have been working
with local authorities, universities and
farmers to prevent water pollution from
the farmyard, and the field.

Best management
practices can reduce
contamination of water
up to 90%.

We are helping
keep water clean
in

24

countries

Water

Working together with key European stakeholders


were helping to keep pesticides out of water
TOPPS (Train Operators to Promote best
Practice and Sustainability) comprises
a series of projects which use best
management practices to avoid pesticide
contamination of water in and near
farmland.
TOPPS-Life focuses on point source
contamination, while TOPPS-Prowadis
works to prevent the contamination that
can happen during application, from for
example spray drift and run-off. Both
projects focus on the development,
communication, and demonstration of
best practices.
Over ten years the TOPPS projects have
partnered with 22 organisations, including
universities, research centres and local
authorities. The project continues to
grow, and has so far been rolled out in 24
European countries. TOPPS-Prowadis is
currently active in seven European countries.

TOPPS-Life

was launched in 2005 in


collaboration with the EU
Life+ programme

Building on the success


of TOPPS-Life,

TOPPS-Prowadis
was launched in 2011

The TOPPS
projects work with 22
partners, with outreach in

24 countries

Food

Working with partners to support the reduction


of residues on food
While there is widespread agreement
among scientists that the health danger
from pesticide residues is negligible,
consumer concerns about pesticide
residues are real and need to be
addressed.
Our Residues Management Project
promotes the good agricultural practices
that help reduce residues, and spreads
knowledge on effective residue
management to farmers who export
produce to the EU. In Turkey, 100 trainers
are sharing this specialist expertise with
farmers across the country.

Our train-the-trainer
programme takes good
residue management
practices from centres of
excellence to areas where
they are most needed.

Food

We actively address consumer concerns about pesticide


residues; Europes food has never been safer or healthier
Through our Residues Management
Project we are developing effective
management practices and through
training, sharing them where they are
most needed.
We have partnered with the Spanish
research centre Las Palmerillas a centre
of excellence in residue management to
develop a programme to share bestpractices. A practical, easy-to-use guide
has been developed to assist farmers
in the correct use of products an
important step in reducing residues.
We have developed a train-the-trainer
programme with farm advisory services
to ensure that best management
practices are shared with farmers across
Europe, and reach those areas where
improvement is most needed.

Launched in

2013

5 Almeria-trained Turkish
advisors have trained

100 advisors in Turkey


Each of these 100 is

educating and training

30-50 Turkish farmers per

week in residue management


The project has the potential

5,000

farmers,
to reach
specialists, and advisors in
just one season

The European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) represents


the crop protection industry at the European level. Its members
include all major crop protection companies and national
associations across Europe.
The ECPA network promotes and upholds the highest standards
for human safety and environmental care in European agriculture,
based on sustainable, productive, value-added, innovative and
scientific farming methods.
The European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) is committed
to: dialogue with all those who care about the environment and
human safety in European agriculture; protecting and conserving
water resources by introducing innovative crop protection
solutions and promoting sustainable agricultural practices, and
contributing significantly to a healthy, high-quality, affordable
food supply for all by maintaining plant health, increasing plant
productivity and improving farm practices.

For more information, please contact:


ECPA aisbl
6 Avenue E. Van Nieuwenhuyse
1160 Brussels - Belgium
Tel: +32 2 663 15 50
Fax: +32 2 663 15 60
E-mail: ecpa@ecpa.eu
www.ecpa.eu
www.twitter.com/cropprotection
www.facebook.com/cropprotection

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