The German government is to ban use of glyphosate in the country from the end of 2023, writes Marianne Curtis in Farmers Guardian.
According to UK and German press reports, the ban, agreed by the German cabinet earlier this week, is part of an insect conservation programme announced by Environment Minister Svenja Schulze.
Bayer accounts for 50 per cent of glyphosate sales globally. Its head of communications and government affairs, Dr Julian Little says: “It is fascinating that they have decided to take a product off the market because they say it harms insects. It is a herbicide so how is it killing bees?”
Even following an argument that weeds are useful for insects, why choose glyphosate in the first instance when there are hundreds of other products containing herbicides, he says. “It flies in the face of any scientific thinking.”
Dr Little adds: “We will be supporting re-registration of glyphosate in conjunction with a consortium of companies and partnerships.”
Glyphosate is approved for use in the EU until December 2022.
