Romania is in favour of maintaining an adequate health status of plants and plant products, along with the other seven signatory states, and a 35 percent reduction in the use of plant protection products would affect production levels, which could also lead to the bankruptcy of many farmers, Agriculture and Rural Development minister Petre Daea told the Agriculture and Fisheries Council - AGRIFISH.
The Agriculture minister referred to the document "Concerns about draft legislative act on sustainable use of plant protection products and maintenance of an adequate plant health status in the EU", initiated by Latvia on behalf of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania.
"The main purpose of plant protection products is to maintain a high level of agricultural production. Romania is an important exporter to third markets and has every interest that national agricultural production complies with International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures. Romania is also the Member State with the lowest amount of substance used per unit area. Compared to the European average of 2.2 kg/ha, Romania uses only 0.64 kg/ha," said Petre Daea.
According to him, a 35 percent reduction in the use of plant protection products would affect our production level, which could also lead to the bankruptcy of many farmers.
"We cannot agree with this level of reduction, as Romania is a country that does not overuse pesticides, but, on the contrary, can be considered a benchmark. That is why we believe that proportional reduction is not a solution," stressed the minister.AGERPRES