IFOAM Organics Europe’s recommendations on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR)
Read this Position Paper in ENGLISH – BULGARIAN
IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes the European Commission’s proposal on the revision of the Sustainable Use
of Pesticides Regulation (SUR), as it can be a key instrument to reduce the impact of pesticides on human and
animal health as well as on the environment, and to meet the Farm to Fork Strategy’s objectives, especially to
reach its targets on pesticide reduction:
- Reducing the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030,
- Reducing the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50% by 2030.
As organic farming refrains from using chemically synthesised pesticides (among which herbicides account for around 50%) and relies firstly on preventive and indirect measures such as longer crop rotation and plant diversification, completed when needed with the use of naturally occurring substances 3 to manage pest, organic agriculture contributes to achieving the SUR’s objectives and should be properly promoted. In this regard, the SUR can also be a tool to fulfil the 25% target of organic farmland by 2030 across Europe set under the Farm to Fork Strategy.
However, IFOAM Organics Europe considers that the SUR proposal published by the Commission on 22 June 2022
should be improved on several points to achieve and measure the progress on the objectives set.