East Midlands MEP Rupert Matthews has criticised the European Union over further uncertainty for farmers in the region, following the European Union’s vote this week to re-licence the weed killer Glyphosate for just five years. The compromise agreed by Member State representatives falls well short of the European Commission's initial recommendation of a 15-year renewal.
Glyphosate has been approved for use by both the European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemical Agency, bodies set up and funded by the EU precisely to provide this kind of expert advice. It is estimated that banning Glyphosate would cut UK production of winter wheat and winter barley by 12% and oil seed rape by 10%, costing the farming industry £940m a year. Its use also lessens the need for mechanical ploughing, reducing pollution and soil erosion. No biological alternatives are expected to be commercially available in the near future.
Rupert commented:
“It is disappointing that the licence has only been extended for five years and falls well short of the original proposal for fifteen. Instead of evidence-based decision making, the EU has come up with an irrational fudge based on emotional arguments, not scientific data. That is not the way to make good decisions and I know that farmers in the East Midlands will be worried about this.
“Nevertheless the five year extension is good news for farmers in the East Midlands, giving them medium-term certainty on this issue. Hopefully this will open the door to a more long term solution.”
The current licence expires on 15 December. An EU Glyphosate ban would still affect British farmers after Brexit as the bloc would almost certainly block the import of products on which the weed killer had been used.
The UK supported the Commission's original proposal to renew Glyphosate's licence for 15 years.