madam president the efficient and effective use of pesticides is a necessity
whilst the protection of the environment and safeguarding of public health go hand-in-hand i believe we have to balance the needs of consumers and producers
whilst i welcome the aims of the breyer report to reduce red tape i am not able to support this
i have met with a number of experts and farmers and nfu representatives in my west midlands constituency who all have deep reservations about the effects that this report will have on crop yields
i share their concerns
my biggest worry is that there has not been a proper impact assessment by the commission and there is no clear indication of what this report will mean for agriculture
at a time of rising food prices around the world i do not think that now is the time for us to have a knee-jerk reaction to introduce measures which may have adverse effects on food production
that is why my delegation introduced an amendment for a thorough and long overdue impact assessment
