Webinar 'Improving knowledge, skills and capacity building to ensure plant health in more sustainable agricultural systems'

Presentation of the webinar 'Improving knowledge, skills and capacity building to ensure plant health in more sustainable agricultural systems' jointly organized by Plants for the Future ETP and Euphresco.

A healthy, productive and resilient agriculture is a prerequisite for a prosperous and sustainable bioeconomy. Healthy plants can help towards creating socially fair communities globally by contributing to end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment and boost economic development. Plant protection products (PPPs) are products intended to keep plants healthy by protecting them and their lant products against harmful organisms. In the last decade, there has been an increasing drive towards new and innovative low-hazard PPPs providing nature-based solutions, such as biologicals and basic substances (e.g., vinegar, charcoal). This has further been promoted by the EU Green Deal’s Farm to Fork strategy to reduce the use of chemical and more hazardous PPPs by 2023 and promoting more sustainable agricultural systems.

While much research, development and innovation is being conducted to develop environmentally friendly alternatives to hazardous PPPs, the EU approval process for marketing these new PPPs is marred by regulations that are not adapted to such products, as well as a lack of knowledge and expertise of some competent authorities that lack the knowledge, skills and capacity to keep up with the latest scientific achievements. This situation has resulted in long approval processes (5-8 years), thereby significantly delaying access of these PPPs for farmers.

This webinar aims to demonstrate the use of basic substances and biological as sustainable PPPs for European agriculture, as well as highlight the need to develop and share knowledge and skills related to the development of these new PPPs, as well as the need for capacity building to improve the flow of safe innovation to the market.

Presentation Mr Deserio: Regulation of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) – ensuring access to new and innovative low-hazard PPPs

Presentation Mr Marchand: Improving knowledge on basic substances: what they are, their approval and use

Presentation Mr Romanazzi: Collaborative research and knowledge sharing on basic substances as an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic plant protection products for plant protection

Presentation Mr Audsley: Capacity building on pre-emptive biological control and preparedness against priority biosecurity threats

Presentation Mr Grondal: How to de-risk R&I for PPPs – the importance of capacity building and knowledge sharing