FRANCE: Glyphosate phase-out plan issued

The measures of the glyphosate phase-out plan launched by the government to put an end to the main uses of glyphosate by 2020 and to all its uses by 2022 were disclosed on 17 January 2019.

The animation and the follow-up of this action plan are entrusted to a “Task Force” gathering the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, INRA (French National Institute for Research in Agriculture), ACTA (network of French Agricultural Institutes) and APCA (Chambers of Agriculture Assembly) and chaired by Prefect Pierre-Étienne Bisch, appointed inter-ministerial coordinator of the glyphosate phase-out plan on 1st  December 2018. The coordinator, who will be responsible for reporting on actions taken and progress made every three months to ministers and parliamentarians, was auditioned by the National Assembly on 17 January 2019.

Among the measures of this action plan, a resource center was put online on 1st February 2019 to make available to the whole agricultural profession existing solutions to get out of glyphosate. The contributions, intended to get extended, come from farmers and field experiences, and can be consulted through summary articles, technical sheets and farmer experiences organised by sectors.

The press release also reminds the existence of the website “glyphosate.gouv.fr” presented by the government on 22 November 2018, intended to monitor the number of farmers having stopped any use of glyphosate or engaged in this way. A start-up will also be launched during the first quarter of 2019 to allow the emergence of digital tools to support farmers.

Finally, this press release informs that, following the glyphosate approval by the European Commission for 5 years, ANSES will re-assess applications for renewal of approvals for PPPs containing glyphosate with paying particular attention to certain points such as their genotoxic potential and the conformity of the co-formulants used, the protection of operators, the protection of groundwater and biodiversity, which might lead to restrictions of use.

ANSES will carry out a comparative assessment of the products remaining authorised by the end of 2020 with the support of INRA, after which only uses without alternative will be maintained.
In accordance with the regulation renewing the approval of glyphosate, ANSES will restrict the pre-harvest use of glyphosate to spot application in all approvals, and thus withdraw all broadcast herbicidal uses before harvest.

See also our previous articles:

FRANCE: Towards glyphosate phase out

EUROPE: Renewal of glyphosate approval

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