Independent Dialogue
Geographical focus:
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Discussion topic outcome
What needs to change? The dialogue identified the following actions to accelerate the shift to nature positive farming and adoption of biocontrol: Knowledge: • Build linkages between food companies, suppliers and growers, to understand the appetite for shifts in agricultural practices across the value chain • Increased farmer knowledge of the efficacy of biocontrol products, and how they can transition • Utilise decision support tools to enable farmers to understand how biocontrol efficacy could be optimised in their specific context • Increase awareness of what biocontrol products are
... Read more available, and how to use them: from advisors and suppliers to agricultural media • Research and development to prioritise biocontrol, demonstrate its efficacy and the business case for its use • Knowledge transfer and training in the use of biocontrol methods in the farm context • An understanding of farming operation implications such as work and labour Cost and risk: • Pricing structures (product cost and incentives for utilisation) that allow farmers to invest in the transition to, and adoption of, biocontrol • Contracts and partnerships with off-takers and food companies to share risk in the transition, rather than borne solely by the farmer • The shift to ecologically focused farming needs to be appropriately compensated, particularly for the additional benefits such as carbon storage and biodiversity and ecosystem services such as water quality The wider role of food companies: • Build stronger connections between farmers using biocontrol and actors further up the supply chain such as food retailers and manufacturers, to share knowledge, demonstrate practice and engage in partnership • Food companies need to understand the process of agricultural transition, and support farmers as they gradually transform practice, for example through longer term relationships, contracts, access to metrics to demonstrate outcomes, and sharing risk • Food companies can communicate to the public the use of biocontrol strategies and the wider benefits arising from its use • Collaboration across the sector and through the supply chain on advocacy for a better enabling environment for a shift to nature positive farming (such as the speed of decision-making and regulatory frameworks underpinning biocontrol) Policy To enable biocontrol to play its part in the shift to nature positive farming, a significant shift in policy is required. Agricultural policies need to align with the future ambitions of the EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategy, looking forward rather than reflecting the agricultural practices of the past. The following represent the top five policy recommendations from the IEEP report. • Definition: Using a common EU definition on biocontrol would bring clarity of its technical aspects to the political discussion on pest control for sustainable agriculture. • Legal framework: Adapting the current EU legal framework to recognise the non-toxic implications of biocontrol, in comparison to chemical products, should be considered. • Alignment opportunities: By increasing the uptake of biocontrol use, as part of Integrated Pest Management, the Common Agricultural Policy can be better aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Farm-to-Fork strategy in creating a pathway for achieving the 2030 targets on organic farming and chemical pesticide reduction. • Research needs: Extending research topics and investment beyond technical issues to biocontrol’s relation to climate change mitigation and farm economics will create a more holistic image of the impact of the use of biocontrol. • Field application: Pushing for larger scale and accelerated application, supported by available policy instruments in the Common Agricultural Policy, will show the potential that biocontrol demonstrates for controlling plant pests and diseases, in support of EU Green Deal targets. Read less
Action Track(s): 1, 3, 5
Keywords: Data & Evidence, Environment and Climate, Finance, Innovation, Policy