PAN Europe: New report on alternatives to glyphosate published

PAN Europe has published an updated edition of its report on alternatives to glyphosate as a contribution to the ongoing discussions among some EU member states on phasing out glyphosate and promoting alternatives.

Last December, following glyphosate’s re-authorisation, six ministers from France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Malta and Greece wrote a letter to the European Commission asking for an exit plan to support farmers with phasing out the glyphosate. As France speeds up its efforts towards an abolishment, other like-minded member states want to discuss next steps and share approaches in the exit plan for the pesticide.

The PAN report on glyphosate alternatives shows that there is already knowledge and tools available to replace widespread herbicide use. It gives an overview of some of the ecological and mechanical techniques that can be used in combination, forming a toolkit of “many little hammers” to manage weeds, rather than relying on a “chemical wrecking ball”. This means moving from a logic of complete extermination, with associated biodiversity loss, to rather managing weeds in line with the EU Directive on Sustainable use of Pesticides.

In a press release, Henriette Christensen, Senior Policy Advisor of PAN Europe, states: “The transition towards lower impact systems and less reliance on glyphosate involves not only replacing glyphosate-based herbicides by using mechanical means or other less harmful herbicides, but also discovering or re-discovering organic farming cycles and techniques, learning to work with nature again, following the “many little hammers” approach – as illustrated by the Integrated Weed Management triangle presented on the cover page of the report!”