BLUE SKY THINKING COULD DELIVER GREENER CROPS

摘要

Looking into a crystal ball to see what crop protection might look like in 10 to 20 years times is probably a fruitless pastime. Not only are many variables likely to change in the intervening years, but tighter EU pesticide regulations mean that techniques previously thought to be 'novel' are becoming mainstream.hanges to the risk assessment of plant protection products are already affecting the options available to growers across Europe. According to the NFU, half of all available pesticides have been lost since 2001.Speaking at the Cereals event in June, NFU vice president Guy Smith said, "At a time when leading scientists are warning that within a generation the world could be facing a 'perfect storm' of food shortages, this is not time to be taking away the toolsour farmers need to produce disease free, high yielding crops."