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Pesticides on our farms

  • by JW

The Sid Valley not only has meadows for grazing sheep and cattle, but also fields of rapeseed and barley – which are being sprayed with insecticides.

 

We have banned neonicotinoid pesticides – but at what cost?

Banning neonicotinoids to “save bees” … but questions remain around the science, as the ban “is already forcing farmers to switch to older, broadly sprayed pesticides that are much worse for bees and have to be used in much greater quantities.”

 

On this evening’s Countryfile on BBC One, Tom Heap considered the issues:

 

Chemical-Free Future?

Tom investigates whether UK farming could ever go totally chemical-free. The government wants to see pesticides used as a last resort but Tom discovers the amount used has actually risen significantly over the past 25 years. So what are the alternatives? Tom finds out whether new technology could help reduce our reliance on pesticides…

Derbyshire – Countryfile

 

Tom also interviewed campaigning groups:

Pesticide Action Network UK: PAN UK Home

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