The NFU is running a survey throughout October on the effectiveness of Crop Protection Management Plans (CPMPs) to give farmers and agronomists their say. The confidential survey can be found at www.nfuonline.com/CPMPSurvey.xml and it is hoped as many farmers and advisers as possible will take part.
CPMPs help farmers identify the environmental risks of crop protection to water and biodiversity at farm level. They are a key part of the Voluntary Initiative (VI) and an option in the Entry Level Stewardship scheme. More than 1.6 million hectares are covered by CPMPs every year - helping ensure the VI meets its annual targets and demonstrating to the government that farmers and growers use pesticides responsibly.
“It is clear from the thousands of CPMP returns we receive from across the UK that the farming industry takes pesticide stewardship very seriously,” said NFU vice president Paul Temple. “CPMPs are now a part of mainstream farm management but after four years it’s time to review their effectiveness and consider how we can improve them.”
Major targets agreed with Government to minimise the environmental impact of pesticides have been exceeded according to the sixth annual report of the Voluntary Initiative.
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