By Jean-Charles Bocquet, ECPA Director General
It’s extremely encouraging to witness how the issue of farmers’ occupational health and protection has become more and more important within the agricultural industry. During a two day pan-European workshop taking place in Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia at the beginning of June we will see how to take the update of best practices further as this year’s meeting is dedicated to developing partnerships to further occupational health best practices in the context of the safe and correct use of crop protection products.
It was exactly to address this key issue of promoting the correct and safe use of crop protection products amongst all farmers – but particularly in hotter climates – that the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) ten years ago set up the Safe and Sustainable Use Initiative, or SUI for short. From humble beginnings this initiative has received widespread traction and uptake across Europe, of which we should all be rightly proud.
The Mediterranean region produces a significant proportion of Europe’s favourite fresh fruits and vegetables, but it is also an area where climatic conditions pose specific challenges to farmers. Firstly, because the Mediterranean climate favours a proliferation of pests and diseases which farmers need to tackle with effective crop protection treatments to successfully protect their harvests. And secondly, because farmers working in such hot climates can often be tempted not to wear all the necessary protective gear needed to correctly handle crop protection products, as detailed by the label instructions.
The project launched in the heart of the Mediterranean and one of Europe’s largest greenhouse production areas, in Almería, Spain. The SUI effectively raises awareness – and the adoption – of best practices through high-quality training materials for industry, trainers, advisors and farmers, including videos, best-practice manuals, instructional posters and TV and radio advertisements.
In its first ten years the SUI has seen significant uptake and positive impact of the initiative’s easy-to-apply recommendations. Since its inception in 2005 the project has gone from strength to strength and is currently rolled out well beyond the Mediterranean basin, now established across 17 countries. Building on this success, ECPA plans to share the SUI principles and best practices with all 28 EU Member States.
Given regional differences, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. For example, the farming environment in southern Italy is very different from that in the west of Ireland, and recommendations are tailor-made for each country so that they comply with national requirements and also respond to local farming and climatic conditions. But the principle remains the same: essential partnerships with local stakeholders.
The SUI accommodates local crop and cultural requirements as well as national legislation. Close collaboration with national experts ensures that the SUI’s principles and guidelines remain effective within each country. To ensure broad reach of best safe and sustainable use practices, local authorities have endorsed many of our materials through National Action Plans (NAPs). Here, cooperation with stakeholders and partners is key to reaching as many farmers as possible. Today we see that some of the recommendations given by the SUI project have been taken up nearly threefold by pesticide users in a relatively short amount of time, vastly increasing protection of both human and environmental health1.
The crop protection industry’s goal is to find common ground on the sustainable use of pesticides and achieve solutions that are economically, environmentally and socially acceptable, and this is also why the SUI is fully in line with the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The alliances formed by the SUI serve to integrate expertise and coordinate approaches with a wide range of stakeholders, ultimately benefiting the food chain as a whole.
The SUI is a great example of how industry can concretely and successfully contribute to enhancing occupational health and safety. Long may it thrive.
SUI is part of ECPA’s “Hungry for Change” initiative, a commitment of the ECPA network to implement projects which aim to respect water, health, biodiversity while producing food in a sustainable way.
Jean Charles Bocquet is Director General of ECPA – the Brussels-based trade association representing the manufacturers of agrochemicals in Europe – since November 2013. Jean Charles is French; an agronomist with a specialised degree in Crop Protection. He has spent all of his career in the plant protection sector, at first with Roussel Uclaf (Hoeschst subsidiary) and then at DuPont de Nemours in various assignments from technical development, through registration, marketing, sales and management roles. From 2002 to October 2013, as Director General of the French crop protection association (UIPP) he played a significant role in France in many working groups involving various stakeholders with a strong commitment for promotion and defence of the crop protection industry sector, promoting stewardship, sustainable agriculture and openness in communication.
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