AGRICHEMICAL FIRM SYNGENTA BACKTRACKS ON ITS INITIATIVE TO RESTRICT NEONICOTINOIDS

AGRICHEMICAL FIRM SYNGENTA BACKTRACKS ON ITS INITIATIVE TO RESTRICT NEONICOTINOIDS

courtesy: usgreenchamber

Just when a new initiative to ban neonicotinoids was going to be implemented in Europe, in order to establish in full the impact they have on bee populations, a giant of the agri-chemical sector is backtracking on its promise to restrict its product, claiming that the EU was wrong in blaming the chemicals on the bee's demise.  

Neonicotinoids are pesticides widely used in agriculture, and its use has impacted bee population significantly according to several independent studies.  

The agri-chemical giant Syngenta now claims that the European Food Safety Authority has 'jumped the gun' in releasing a report that attributes bee population decline to its product, saying that the studies on which the report is based are flawed.

The European Commission, in fact, released such report in order to put in place a long term plan that would see a reduction in the use of pesticides.

According to Syngenta, the study released by the ECU is based on unrealistic planting rates, which are two to four times higher than what is commonly used.   

Syngenta, the top producer of the pesticide subject of the two year ban, contends that if normal rates were used, the study's results would have been very different.

Indeed, Syngenta now claims that a 'true' study would have concluded that the neonicotinoids pose a very 'low' risk to bee population.

Source: France 24