Stories

As we wait for the publication of the latest annual pesticide residues monitoring results, we met with two industry experts to ask them about pesticide residues and Maximum Residue Level (MRL) monitoring in the EU.

A press overview featuring snippets from across the world on pest protection products, agriculture and related subjects (February 2009).

Navigating the dangers

In the coming years Europe must steer a path between the perils of climate change and the threat of global famine. The challenge will be to keep producing enough food while adapting to climate change and not making it worse.  Massive population growth, land pressure and the need to reduce the environmental impact of farming all contribute to this dilemma, for which the right solutions need to be found and soon.

Currently, the primary method of weed control by smallholder farmers in Africa is hand weeding with short-handled tools. A single hectare requires approximately 400 hours of labour for optimal weed control. With roughly one hundred million hectares of smallholder plots in Sub-Saharan Africa, this equates to forty billion hours a year spent by African women and children weeding fields by hand.