Schwerin (dpa / mv) – Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Minister of Agriculture Till Backhaus (SPD) has announced the goal of reducing the use of pesticides, but rejected EU plans to do so as excessive. The proposal from Brussels almost completely ignores the consequences of climate change on agricultural production and makes disproportionate maximum demands. This puts the continued existence of agriculture at serious risk, Backhaus said on Wednesday in the state parliament in Schwerin.
According to him, the draft EU regulation provides for a reduction in the use of pesticides by half by 2030 – with the result that agricultural production would fall by a third in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania alone. In view of the continuing loss of species, however, there could be no “business as usual”, emphasized Backhaus. The principle must apply to use as little as possible and as much as necessary. “Because without plant protection there will be no high-quality food,” said the minister.
The CDU MP Thomas Diener pointed out that the restrictions would affect about half of the arable land in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Massive yield losses are the result. “Pesticides make a significant contribution to ensuring that the world’s population is fed safely,” emphasized the CDU politician. Production-restricting measures are not responsible, especially in view of the current situation on the food market as a result of the Ukraine war.
The Green MP Hannes Damm, on the other hand, backed the plans of the EU Commission. 70 percent of the soil is no longer healthy, there are fewer and fewer butterflies, wild bees and other insects, and pesticides can now be found almost everywhere in the groundwater. “In the current situation, we must not lose sight of the fact that, in addition to the current war, there are other long-known threats to our agriculture and our food system: on the one hand, there is man-made climate change and, on the other hand, the progressive destruction of the natural basis of life ‘ Damm argued.
