Crop Protection Agreement Sets Course: Technology Will Be Key to Future-Proof Cultivation
On July 14, the Future-Proof Crop Protection Agreement was signed by the national government, LTO Nederland, NAJK, the Arable Farming Sector Organization, Greenports Nederland, the Central Food Trade Bureau (CBL), the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG), and the Union of Water Boards. Fedecom is not a signatory to the covenant, but will be involved in the further elaboration of the agreements.
The agreement aims to significantly reduce the environmental impact of crop protection products in the coming years, while at the same time ensuring that growers retain sufficient operational flexibility and legal certainty. The broad outlines of the agreements will be further elaborated after the summer in sector-specific sub-agreements.
National framework to ensure clarity
A key component of the agreement is the development of a national policy framework for Natura 2000 areas and the living environment. With this, the parties to the agreement aim to put an end to the current situation in which provinces and municipalities are increasingly developing their own rules for the use of crop protection products, such as distance requirements, permit requirements, or local usage restrictions.
The new national framework is intended to ensure uniform rules based on independent scientific research. It focuses on measures such as emission- and drift-reducing techniques, landscape-based measures, targeted restrictions on use, and other solutions that reduce the impact on nature and the living environment. The goal is to provide business owners with greater legal certainty while simultaneously strengthening the protection of people, nature, and the environment.
Area-Specific Approach to Water Quality
Improving water quality is also an important part of the agreement. To meet the objectives of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD), area-specific plans are being developed for regions where exceedances of standards for crop protection products have been identified. Additional measures are expected in the short term, particularly in groundwater protection areas.
The guiding principle is to first focus on effective measures in practice, such as emission-reducing technologies, precision applications, and improved operational management. Only when these measures fail to yield sufficient results may more far-reaching usage restrictions become necessary. The agreement acknowledges that business owners who are disproportionately affected must be entitled to appropriate compensation.
Innovation and precision technology take center stage
For the customers of Fedecom members—growers and contract farmers—the agreement means that innovative agricultural technology will play an increasingly important role. Making crop protection more sustainable must largely be achieved through Integrated Crop Management (ICM), which focuses on prevention, monitoring, and the highly targeted use of crop protection measures.
Fedecom members provide essential components for the solution. The covenant’s objectives can only be achieved if growers have access to innovative machinery, precision technology, and smart data systems. Fedecom members develop and supply these technologies, thereby making Integrated Crop Management a reality.
To this end, it focuses on, among other things:
- Targeted crop protection: technology that treats only areas where a disease, pest, or weed is actually present, thereby significantly reducing the use of crop protection products (such as spot spraying, camera-based detection, and variable-rate application).
- Low-emission application: innovative spraying techniques that significantly reduce drift, runoff, and emissions into surface water, Natura 2000 areas, and the surrounding environment (including PWM, individual nozzle control, and drift-reducing techniques).
- Non-chemical alternatives: machines and robots for mechanical, electrical, and other non-chemical weed control, which can prevent or delay the use of chemicals.
- Smart monitoring and decision support: sensors, cameras, drones, and data platforms that detect diseases and pests early on and help growers intervene only when absolutely necessary.
- Data and accountability: automatic recording of applications and machine data, enabling growers to easily meet future reporting, benchmarking, and KPI requirements.
Work is also underway to establish an independent Crop Protection Data Authority, which will enable better recording and monitoring of usage data and environmental impact. As a result, digital recording systems, software, and data links will play an increasingly important role.
Technology as Part of the Solution
For Fedecom , the agreement underscores that modern agricultural technology makes an indispensable contribution to achieving the set goals. Innovative machinery makes it possible to apply crop protection products more precisely, further reduce emissions and drift, detect diseases and pests early on, and, where possible, replace chemical applications with innovative non-chemical solutions.
Without technological innovation, future-proof crop protection is not feasible. Fedecom members supply the machinery, data, precision technologies, and innovative applications that enable growers to make the transition to lower emissions, reduced chemical use, and resilient cropping systems. As a result, Fedecom members are not only suppliers of technology but also indispensable partners in making Dutch agriculture and horticulture more sustainable.
That is precisely why Fedecom believes it is important that the further implementation of the agreement be based on demonstrable performance rather than generic bans or distance requirements. Modern precision technology offers the possibility of achieving environmental goals while simultaneously preserving business flexibility for entrepreneurs. Successful sustainability therefore requires an approach in which technology, innovation, and scientifically grounded measures go hand in hand.
Fedecom will therefore actively engage in the further development of the sub-agreements, ensuring that the knowledge and experience from the technology sector are leveraged and that innovative solutions are given a full-fledged role within future crop protection policy.
