The
Crop Protection Association(CPA) said there is no new evidence that suspending three neonicotinoid insecticides will lead to any meaningful improvement in bee health.
Neonicotinoids are neuro-active insecticides chemically related to nicotine that are among the most widely used insecticides in the world. Their use has been restricted in some countries in connection to honey-bee colony collapse disorder.
The Commons Environmental Audit Committee called for a suspension of their use in its new report, Pollinators and Pesticides’, which was published today.
Committee Chair Joan Walley said:
“Defra seems to be taking an extraordinarily complacent approach to protecting bees given the vital free service that pollinators provide to our economy
“If farmers had to pollinate fruit and vegetables without the help of insects it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and we would all be stung by rising food prices.”
“Defra Ministers have refused to back EU efforts to protect pollinators and can’t even come up with a convincing plan to encourage bee-friendly farming in the UK.”
CPAChief Executive Nick von Westenholz said the recommendation of the select committee is a disproportionate reaction to a complex problem.
“The reasons that there are declines in some pollinator populations are complicated and not well understood and include factors such as habitat loss, viruses and parasites,” he said.
“Similarly the call to withdraw the approval of neonicotinoids in gardens and amenity areas is unjustified and not supported by any evidence of harm from their proper use in these areas.”
Mr von Westenholz added: “Crop protection products, which include insecticides, are vital tools for farmers and removing them can have serious consequences, both for farmers’ businesses and for consumer access to the safe and affordable food they produce.
“The industry takes extremely seriously its responsibility to place on the market products that, if used safely and responsibly, present minimal risk to the environment and human health” he said.
Two-thirds of wild insect pollinator species - such as bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies, carrion flies, beetles, midges and moths - have suffered population declines in the UK.
Managed honeybees have also experienced unusually high mortality rates, decreased fertility, increased susceptibility to disease and the loss of hives. Similar trends have been observed in the US and other European countries.