In its “Farm to Fork” strategy and biodiversity strategy, the European Union aims to halve chemical pesticides by 2030. “The implementation of these targets is not yet sufficient in Austria,” the Court of Auditors criticized in its report “Use of pesticides in agriculture” published on Friday.
The Court’s audit covered the years 2017 to 2021. However, according to the report, the data situation was inadequate: although the Ministry of Agriculture publishes annual data on pesticides placed on the market, imports of plant protection products such as online purchases or cross-border own imports by agricultural users are not included in the statistics taken into account.
Active ingredients that pose a health risk are still being used
Furthermore, the quantities of active ingredients placed on the market did not allow statements to be made about their risk to humans and the environment due to their varying toxicity. However, the Court of Auditors pointed out “that active ingredients were used in Austria for which health problems were confirmed”. In 2021, 32 of the 1,798 samples were assessed as harmful to health or unfit for human consumption during food residue checks in this country; two of which came from domestic production.
In Austria, there was also a lack of “independence of the approval and assessment bodies” during the reporting period. The national approval authority for plant protection products in Austria, the Federal Office for Food Safety (BAES), is therefore “a department subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture.” According to the report, BAES has used the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) “in terms of personnel and organization” in the approval process. “This company is 100 percent owned by the federal government. Mutual influence between risk assessment and risk management during decision-making cannot be ruled out,” the report states.
Emergency approvals of hazardous substances
In its report, the Court also pointed to the high number of emergency authorisations in Austria compared to the EU. This also included particularly dangerous active ingredients that are no longer approved in the EU. The number of emergency authorisations increased significantly, especially during the period under review. “The auditors are critical of the development of emergency approvals, as they allowed stricter standard approval procedures to be circumvented,” the Court said.
The Court also criticised the fact that official controls on the use of plant protection products by the states are not carried out according to uniform standards. “Corresponding EU regulations were implemented in this country through nine state laws, each with different requirements,” the Court found.
Politics is needed now
“We are clearly committed to integrated crop protection, which means as much as necessary, as little as possible,” the Ministry of Agriculture responded in a statement. “The aim is to sustainably optimise the use of crop protection agents and to secure the supply of local food. At the same time, we want to continuously improve. The recommendations of the Court of Audit, which falls under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, will therefore be carefully examined for opportunities for improvement.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
