Using Emergency Approvals: Why Banned Pesticides Are Still Used

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They have names like Ibisio or Barritus Rex, must protect plants against diseases and pests and are actually not allowed to be used in Switzerland: pesticides that are not approved.

But last year, five times as many emergency approvals were granted for such products as five years ago. As French-language Swiss television RTS reported at the beginning of January, the number of emergency authorizations for plant protection products increased from six in 2019 to 29 last year.

Why is that? According to the Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (BLV), the approval criteria for crop protection products have become increasingly strict over the past twenty years. “To better protect people, animals and the environment.” Many older active ingredients and agents no longer meet the criteria. “Some of the permit holders no longer want to bear the costs of new research, which is why the crop protection products may no longer be used,” says BLV spokeswoman Tiziana Boebner. At the same time, new pathogens have emerged in recent years.

208 pesticides removed from circulation

If a pest or disease cannot be controlled with the approved crop protection products, the FSVO can grant the manufacturer an emergency permit. “Most emergency approvals are granted for products that have already been regularly approved, but not for the relevant crop-pest combination,” says Boebner. The emergency permits are valid for a maximum of one year, but can also be granted for several years in a row.

Since 2005, a total of 208 active ingredients have had their approval withdrawn. According to Sandra Helfenstein, head of communications at the Swiss Farmers’ Association, this is a huge challenge for farmers. “The protection of crops is less and less guaranteed and the production risk is increasing enormously.” Because active ingredients are missing, resistance to existing medicines is increasing. “If there are alternative protection options, these are also applied in practice,” says Helfenstein. If these are missing, work unreliably or the alternatives are too labor or cost intensive, the production of certain vegetables, fruit or animal feed will be stopped.

As examples, she mentions several pests for which there is no cure, including spider mites, wireworms and new pests such as the strawberry seed beetle.

If a new plague appears in Switzerland, the FSVO takes immediate action. Last year it issued five emergency permits to prevent the spread of the Japanese beetle. It causes extensive damage to the roots, leaves, flowers and fruits of more than 400 host plants. “Each of these emergency approvals applies to different crop protection products containing the same active substance to combat the Japanese beetle on different crops,” says Tiziana Boebner of the BLV.

Last year, the BLV issued a total of ten emergency permits to combat emerging pests. According to Boebner, seven new plagues were brought under control.

Emergency Approvals for New Immigrant Pests

The farmers’ association is not the only one that monitors developments surrounding emergency authorizations for pesticides. Also Hans-Jakob Schärer from the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL), co-head of crop science. He conducts research into, among other things, biological crop protection products, which also fall under the category of pesticides.

He notes that not only new pests, but also the consequences of climate change mean that emergency permits must be issued. “Sometimes it is too dry and hot and insects can multiply, sometimes it is extremely wet, leading to increased pest infestation.”

If new emergency authorizations are issued year after year for the same problems, you should keep an eye on that. “Manufacturers cannot avoid the regular approval process with this instrument,” says Schärer.

In short, the BLV does its job well and tries to give preference to gentle remedies over chemicals where possible. When it comes to newly immigrating pests, you need to take rigorous action from the start before they can spread here. “The emergency inspection method is exactly the right choice here, because you can act quickly.”

Source:Blick