Swiss authorised record number of ‘banned’ pesticides last year
In 2023, some 30 previously banned substances were exceptionally authorised by federal authorities, as a means of tackling growing menaces to agricultural crops.
This content was published on
2 minutes
RTS
Português
pt
Suíça autorizou número recorde de agrotóxicos proibidos
Thierry Blaser observes the same thing every year when walking through his rapeseed field. “Insect pests sting the rape and lay their larvae. The plant then gets deformed and can no longer produce as it should,” the farmer told RTS public radio on Tuesday.
To kill the insects and produce his 15 tonnes of rapeseed, there was only one solution for Blaser: protection products. The problem is that the number of authorised substances is constantly decreasing. Since 2005, 208 products have been withdrawn from the market.
Blaser says that “if we don’t grant these authorisations, we won’t have any production”.
However, under pressure from farmers, the Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (FOSV) authorised the emergency use of 29 previously banned substances in 2023 – a record number. By way of comparison, in 2019 the OSAV authorised just 6.
For Serge Imboden, a researcher at the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland (HES-SO), such authorisations are a way of reducing dependence on neighbouring countries, particularly Germany and France.
“There are more and more factors which mean we have to fight more and more pests and diseases. To maintain a degree of self-sufficiency, they’re trying to import plant protection products.”
According to Green Party parliamentarian from Geneva Delphine Klopfenstein, the solution lies elsewhere. “Today, if we are to produce enough, we also have to consider that some of what we produce is thrown away. We need to combat this food waste and bring production back into balance with consumption.”
Swiss agricultural production currently enables the country to feed some 50% of the population.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Deeply Read
More
Science
Switzerland says it can’t afford to take part in Copernicus programme
Study to investigate discrimination against gay and lesbian soldiers in Swiss army
This content was published on
The Swiss government has commissioned an investigation into whether homosexuals in Switzerland’s armed forces have experienced injustice.
Burek King loses battle for the crown to Burger King
This content was published on
Fast-food chain Burek King has lost out to Burger King after a court confirmed the likelihood of confusion between the two brands.
Swiss Senate approves package to combat rising healthcare costs
This content was published on
The Senate wants to get a grip on rising healthcare costs through increased coordination, confidential pricing models and cheaper medicines.
Swiss government websites hit by cyberattacks ahead of Ukraine summit
This content was published on
Various Swiss government websites and organisations involved in the Ukraine peace summit were the target of cyberattacks this morning.
Swiss government’s torture instruments act clears first hurdle
This content was published on
Switzerland's House of Representatives has adopted a new act on instruments of torture proposed by the government last year.
This content was published on
Zurich Airport saw significantly more passengers in May 2024 than in the same month last year and exceeded 2019 monthly levels for the first time.
This content was published on
Switzerland’s House of Representatives voted in favour of a motion to ban disposable e-cigarette sales by 122 votes to 63.
Gold rush for Switzerland at European Athletics Championships
This content was published on
Switzerland has had the most successful European Athletics Championships of all time with nine medals, four of them gold.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.