EU Parliament Vote on NGTs Positive for Farmers

IFA National Grain Committee Chair Kieran McEvoy said today’s vote in the EU Parliament on the New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) is a positive development, both for farmers and the sustainability and resilience of the wider EU food system.

“New challenges – such as pests, disease resistance and perhaps, most significantly, climate change – continue to pose a threat to crop yields and quality. It is vital farmers have access to crop varieties produced by the latest plant breeding technologies in order to try and overcome these challenges,” Kieran McEvoy said.

Commenting on yesterday’s announcement on the withdrawal of the SUR pesticide file by Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, Kieran McEvoy said that it was a good day for farmers across the EU.

“From its inception in June 2022, the SUR proposed unworkable pesticide reduction targets, with an absence of viable biological alternatives and with a lack of meaningful consultation with farmers and other pesticide users. If there is one learning from this outcome, it’s that policy makers have to engage fully before bringing new regulations forward,” Kieran McEvoy concluded.