The key points were identified during a three-day workshop held early this summer which brought together around 100 representatives of federal and state authorities, universities, agricultural, horticultural, food retailers’ and food manufacturers’ associations, non-governmental organisations for consumer protection and the environment, in addition to associations representing producers and retailers of pesticides.

There was broad agreement from participants that Germany’s current (second) National Action Plan on Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products (see bottom of page to download this document) forms a solid foundation for the future, but some adjustments will need to be made.

These include improvements in areas such as risk reduction, reducing breaches of maximum residue levels (MRLs), biodiversity and water, establishing quantitative targets and specifying time frames. The workshop identified those measures in the National Action Plan which should be developed and adapted, including steps to:

• Strengthen and intensify independent advisory services.
• Develop and promote innovation in the further development of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and plant protection in organic farming.
• Increase collaboration of relevant state and federal research institutions.
• Develop crop and sector-specific guidelines for IPM through the relevant associations and organisations (ENDURE’s German partner, the Julius Kühn Institute, will provide advisory assistance during the development of these guidelines).
• Improve transparency and communication with stakeholders and the public (for which purpose the Julius Kühn Institute launched a new homepage this year).

Germany’s first Plant Protection Product Reduction Programme was implemented in 2004 following a broad public dialogue on plant protection policy over the previous two years. Feedback was gathered in 2005 and 2006 and confirmed the approach was proving successful.

In 2008, the programme was broadened and adjusted by the (second) National Action Plan on Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products.

The new key points document identifies those areas where the National Action Plan is satisfactory for implementing the Framework Directive (see European legislation for more details of the directive) and those areas where changes will need to be made. You can download the document below in both English and French:

• Workshop - key points (En) [pdf - 82.48 kB]
• Workshop - points clefs (Fr) [pdf - 69.85 kB]

You can also download Germany’s current (second) National Action Plan on Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products:

• National Action Plan on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products [pdf - 5.30 MB]