UK warning to Brussels on over-zealous approach to pest products Global agricultural development by Chris Jackson, Export Manager UK TAG I am writing these notes sitting under the veranda on a farm in Australia, where unlike Europe the farms have no state intervention but live in the real world of commodity prices for their livelihoods. This is my annual trip to Australia, following a visit to VIV Asia held biennially in Thailand. The exhibition grows in significance for the intensive livestock industry at each edition with over 1000 exhibiters this year, along with an increased visitor attendance of professional people. The organisers have this time brought a large delegation of Chinese integrators to the show, and arranged a specific programme for them giving both them and exhibiting companies from around the world opportunities to make business without having to travel within China. An interesting exhibition concept, one I am sure we will see developed more. Whilst in SE Asia I had the opportunity to visit the Can Tao State Agricultural show in Vietnam, this was largely a local event at which we were able to suggest that companies visit VIV Asia to meet with global companies. It was an interesting event for me to better understand how the Vietnamese Government is trying to improve the incomes of their farmers, who still farm in the traditional way with small land holdings. In the Mekong, rice growing is the staple income along with soft fruits. In order to improve incomes the Government have made bank loans available, so that farmers can both cooperate for buying and selling and mechanise making efficiencies of scale possible. This is a very innovative scheme put forward, however it is limited by the banks not making funds available as they do not see farming as a good risk. The small farmers most in need of their help lack the collateral to back lending here, we see first hand the lack of sympathy a capitalist world has for a small-scale 36 | April 2017 - Milling and Grain
business in need. Even with their small scale of production Vietnam is one of the worlds leading rice producing and exporting nations, and has a Government that wants to expand its industry. I am sure it will as the country is one of the most dynamic you will see in the world, that in the last 30 years has made tremendous strides forward with living standards rapidly raising. From Vietnam to Australia where farming is on an industrial scale with rice production an important crop, water has in the past been limited in the irrigation areas of New South Wales. Rainfall and reserves water has been freed up to the rice farmers - who are no longer limited in the Riverina to growing only 30% of their land with rice. While limitations were in place, good incomes of over AUS $4250 (UK £2574 and US $3236) were achievable subject to first grade for human consumption being achieved. As more land is put back into rice, incomes are looking less certain, even with new varieties such as YRM 70, which has a much shorter growing period being used alternative crops are being increased. Currently the most popular being cotton, more expensive to produce and still relying on irrigation. Incomes of twice that of rice can be achieved by the most efficient of farmers. Cotton produces two income streams, the first being for the lint and the second from the seed for oil and a high protein feed for animal feed where demand is now outstripping supply. Another high-income crop now being tried in the Riverina are Mung Beans, highly sought after in India and Thailand and currently produced in Queensland, it will be interesting to see how this alternative develops. Of course the scale of farming in Australia is vast, relying on low labour and huge machines. Without the high horse power machines developed over the last 50 years, farming on the scales seen here would not be possible. With the development of robotic equipment, it will be interesting to see how farming will change in the next 50 years. @AgrictecExports
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stark warning has been issued to MEPs in Brussels against over-zealous and ill-considered banning of important pesticides. The European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee heard the cautionary message from one of Britain’s leading growers at a hearing on Sustainable Plant Protection John Chinn, who is also Chairman of the UK’s Centre for Applied Crop Science, was nominated by West Midlands Conservative MEP Anthea McIntyre to make a presentation in the Parliament. Mr Chinn said the EU was not performing well in its gauging of risk management when approving or banning plant protection products such as insecticides, herbicides and fungicides. He told the hearing: “A failure to distinguish between hazard and risk is an essential part of the confusion about perceived threats from or to our environment; in general hazard identification is easy and often speculative; risk evaluation is generally complex and demanding. “Rational responses are not invariable. There is an extraordinary disregard for well-documented risks while others, of marginal significance, distort public and private spending decisions. “These factors, coupled with a perverse preference for natural toxicity over synthetic safety, lead to an indifferent performance in risk management in the community.” After the hearing, Miss McIntyre said: “It was really good to hear from someone with a wealth of first hand experience, a detailed grasp of the subject and a great deal of common sense - a commodity often in short supply here! Mr Chinn was very polite and very scientifically precise in his language - but he made no secret of his low opinion of some large parts of the EU’s performance in this area. “His basic warning was that effective and low-risk products were being denied to farmers when using them would improve food security and benefit the environment. He concluded by telling the Committee that with new technologies we can achieve the twin goals of increased agricultural production and an enhanced environment.