Reduction Strategy for Chemical Pest Control in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony Announces Plant Protection Products Reduction Strategy
Lower Saxony, a region in Germany, has taken a significant step towards sustainable agriculture by announcing the Lower Saxony Plant Protection Products Reduction Strategy. This strategy, published on February 14, 2023, aims to reduce the use and risk of chemical-synthetic plant protection products by at least 25% compared to the average of the 2015/16 to 2020/21 economic years by 2030.
The strategy is a collaborative effort between the state government, environmental associations, and agriculture, under the banner of the Lower Saxony Way. It encourages the use of digital technology to achieve significant savings in the use of plant protection products and the substitution of these products by alternative methods.
In nature protection areas and landscape protection areas securing Natura 2000 areas, the use of chemical-synthetic plant protection products is prohibited. This reduction is also achieved through the designation of water protection strips and specific regulations in nature protection and FFH areas.
The Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture is actively involved in testing and developing digital and sensor-based application methods on the Domaene Schickelsheim practice farm. This innovation aims to make the application of plant protection products more precise.
Conventional and organic farms are encouraged to exchange ideas on how to reduce plant protection products, as part of the FINKA project. Ongoing projects involving farmers and environmental associations are also being built upon.
The progress of the reduction is continuously recorded and documented since the start of the strategy. An interim evaluation of the Lower Saxony Plant Protection Products Reduction Strategy will be conducted five years after its start, i.e., in 2027, and a final evaluation in 2030.
The strategy includes measures from the "Guideline Paper on the Use of Plant Protection Products" and combines regulatory measures and incentives. Voluntary measures are offered through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union, allowing farmers to receive funding for not using plant protection products on flower strips or areas on arable land.
Additionally, an organization is advocating at the federal level for the creation of legal conditions to phase out the use of chemical-synthetic plant protection products in private gardens. However, the specific responsible party or organization was not explicitly identified in the provided search results.
The effectiveness of the measures of the new CAP funding period starting in 2023 will be used to assess the reduction in the area with plant protection product applications. This strategy is a significant step towards sustainable agriculture in Lower Saxony and sets an example for other regions to follow.
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