This week on Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio we’re looking at the Rational Use of Pesticides Policy that has been adapted by Westmeath County Council.
How pesticides impact human health and ecosystems in Europe
Key messages
- European agricultural production relies on high volumes of chemical pesticides to maintain crop yields. From 2011 to 2020, pesticide sales in the EU-27 remained relatively stable at around 350,000 tonnes per year.
- In 2020, one or more pesticides were detected above thresholds of concern at 22% of all monitoring sites in rivers and lakes across Europe. 83% of agricultural soils tested in a 2019 study contained pesticide residues.
- Pesticide pollution drives biodiversity loss in Europe. It causes significant declines in insect populations, threatening the critical role they play in food production.
- A large-scale human biomonitoring study conducted between 2014 and 2021 across five European countries found that at least two pesticides were present in the bodies of 84% of survey participants. Pesticide levels were consistently higher in children than in adults.
- Achieving the pesticide-related targets set in the farm to fork strategy will require significant additional efforts. We could reduce our dependency on chemical pesticides to maintain crop yields and our overall pesticide use volumes by shifting to alternative models of agriculture, such as agroecology.
For more information:
www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/outdoors/arid-40912745.html
www.topic.ie/council-agrees-rational-use-of-pesticide-policy/
www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/sud/
