Balancing Biological Practices and Chemical Pesticides for Sustainability

360° panoramic view of corn fields.

From a historical perspective, agriculture and horticulture are prime examples of industries that had always worked in collaboration with nature until post-WWII, when chemists and chemical companies started to more widely utilise organic chemistry to synthesise and commercialise pesticide products, writes Emanuela Truffo for FCI.

Today, climate change, the European Green Deal and increasingly eco-conscious farmers, retailers and consumers have become important drivers for using biocontrol technologies. Read on to learn about the legal framework surrounding the delicate balancing act between biological, sustainable and chemical.

For centuries, horticultural and agricultural entrepreneurs have been handling their businesses without any help from chemistry—and not without achieving remarkable success. From the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, the rural economy continued to expand, leading to a progressive increment of the European population and the parallel improvement of economic activities. There were hardly any chemicals, though.

At the same time, natural preservatives, such as salt, vinegar, and lemon, were widely known.

In 1856, Mr. Franesco Cirio founded his company, Cirio Società Generale delle Conserve Alimentari, which exported from Turin to the rest of Europe and beyond. Cirio managed to brand canned vegetables. Once more, there were no chemicals there.

Post-WWII saw globalisation move apace and the arrival of the new phenomenon of supermarkets, which became the major players within distribution networks.

By then, chemistry played a dominant role daily in both horticulture and agriculture until global warming, climate change, and a new consumer conscience emerged.

All this is history. But what about the related legal framework?

Defining matters

Let’s first attempt to define things.

Chemical crop protection is not ‘evil’ per se, nor the opposite. Scientific research is pivotal to assessing whether or not fertilisers and any other kind of chemical addictive are or could be detrimental to human health, including workers, of course.

However, regardless of the jurisdiction, specific rules and quality standards exist to comply with environmental certification schemes.

Although it would be impossible to provide dos and don’ts to get certification, what matters most is consistency, coherence, and trustworthy and transparent communication. The bottom line is that consumers must be adequately informed simply by telling the truth.

EU legislation

The EU has been harmonising rules related to agriculture and horticulture for decades. However, the globalised market carefully focuses on the jurisdictions where products are supposed to be commercialised.

Furthermore, the place of production should be chosen with due diligence: as a consequence of prolonged misuse of natural resources, genuine biological production is scientifically and technically impossible in some areas.

Time and its schedule are pivotal to managing biological, sustainable and, ideally, chemical-free crops. Planning is essential to any enterprise, but it is paramount to maintain environmental characteristics to allow production to get and keep biological certifications.

Interconnectedness is vital

The range of stakeholders within the green value chain is wide. It includes breeders, propagators, plant nurseries, marketers, retailers, street markets, department stores, Cornershop stores, supermarkets, consumers, trendsetters, lawmakers, and law enforcement agents.

These people should lead the market – and the related legal framework – to a more balanced and aware approach to the issue.

Isn’t the ecosystem interconnected? Isn’t the meaning of ecosystem the systemic interconnection of all beings and species on earth? In a nutshell, there is no Plan B, and when governing nature-based industries, this should be inspiring and binding.

History teaches us that when stakeholders stop collaborating, the whole ecosystem—including horticulture and agriculture, of course—is seriously damaged. Cooperation is the only option.

As everybody has been saying through decades, nations, institutions, and citizens must join forces to raise awareness and keep sustainability and preserving our planet in the spotlight, where it belongs. Because our planet matters. Let’s not take it for granted.

About the author: Emanuela Truffo is a partner at Studio Legale Jacobacci E Associati.

This article was first published in the September 2024 issue of FloraCulture International.