January 14, 2009

The UK government has expressed its disappointment at the European Parliament's approval of new restrictions on pesticide use Tuesday (January 13).

The changes are being proposed in response to concerns surrounding health hazards associated with pesticides.

The UK has been one of the most outspoken members of the European Union in opposing the restrictions, on the basis that they are being enforced without the EU having assessed their impact on agricultural production.

"These regulations could hit agricultural production in the UK for no recognizable benefit to human health, and we are being asked to agree to something here when nobody knows what the impact will be," said UK Environment Secretary Hilary Benn.

"While we have managed to secure some improvements surrounding the use of certain pesticides, the UK does not support these proposals."

In the original proposals, the ban was expected to rule out the use of around 30 percent of pesticides.

However, lobbying by the UK for derogation of the legislation on certain substances has reduced the impact to between 10 percent and 15 percent, said a spokesperson from the UK's Pesticides Safety Directorate.

Even so, in its own impact assessment, the Pesticides Safety Directive estimates that the legislation could reduce UK cereal crop yields by up to 20 percent.

The proposals will now go before the European Agriculture Council for its approval and are expected to come into force late next year.