13.07.2024

The "Plan Bee" innovation - a new generation of crop and seed protection

Bees are increasingly used as a key player in maintaining biodiversity through pollination. Bee vectoring technology is just one innovation that increases crop and seed protection. However, many alternative methods of pest control remain in research laboratories, it says Euractiv.

According to the UN, pollination is critical to food security, nutrition and environmental health. Bees and other pollinators contribute 35% of the world's total crop production, pollinating 87 of the planet's 115 leading food crops. Pollination is responsible for almost 90% of wildflowers and 75% of edible plants.

The use of bees and pollination for crop protection

One company is currently pioneering the use of bees and pollination to protect crops. Bee vectoring technology is a precision farming system that uses commercially bred bees for targeted control of crops through pollination. Ground or honey bees carry and deliver natural biopesticides or biocontrol agents directly to crop flowers while pollinating.

The bees receive the biocontrol powder from dispensers placed at the entrance to their hives. As bees visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar, the dust lands on the flowers, allowing the biocontrol agent to protect crops from disease and pests.

This targeted delivery system uses significantly less product than conventional spraying, dramatically reducing the use of chemical pesticides, which is an important factor contributing to the reduction of over 40% of insect species.

In 2020, the Canadian company Bee Vectoring Technologies opened its European office in Switzerland. This February, trials were announced in Spain, funded by the European Commission's Horizon Research and Innovations Action in collaboration with a Spanish biofactory that grows insects for pest control.

This is just one of several key innovations being explored for seed and crop protection – innovations that are increasingly needed to meet the ambitious pesticide reduction targets set out by the European Commission.

The challenges

On 22 June 2022, the European Commission published its proposal for a new Regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products (SUR). It includes EU-wide targets to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030, which is in line with the EU's Farm to Fork strategy and protecting biodiversity.

The new proposals were part of a package of measures to reduce the environmental footprint of the EU's food system and help mitigate economic and biodiversity losses from climate change.

The regulation was supported by thousands of scientists and over one million EU citizens who voted for more significant reductions in pesticides in the European Citizens' Initiative Save Bees and Farmers (ECI).

However, several stakeholders strongly opposed the new regulations, including the pesticide industry lobby and industrial agriculture. After weeks of protests by farmers in early 2024, the Commission eventually withdrew the proposal in February after it failed to gather the necessary support in the European Parliament.

Despite the lack of a parliamentary position, EU agriculture ministers tried to continue work on the regulation under the Spanish presidency of the EU Council. The Spanish Presidency modified the Commission's original text, even removing national reduction targets.

In January this year, when the Belgians took over the presidency of the Council from the Spanish, they proposed to keep parts of the regulation, especially those related to biocontrol products and alternatives to chemical pesticides, but with little success.

Farmers focus on targets

Does this failure mean that farmers are unwilling to achieve their goals? The short answer is no, as many farmers are aware of the harmful effects.

According to Emma Brown, Director of Public Relations at CropLife Europe, the big challenge is removing agricultural tools such as chemical pesticides that need to be replaced. According to her, keeping the current toolkit risks setting food production back, the opposite of what Europe needs. This is where new agricultural technologies come into play, which are developing faster than ever.

Biopesticides, for example, are a new class of plant protection products that use natural living organisms, such as microbes and insects. Other technologies include applying new seed coatings before planting, which can also protect against pests and diseases, negating the need for pesticides altogether.

Additionally, new research projects include sequencing pest genomes to identify species-specific target proteins and using LEDs to accurately identify insect species for surveillance programs.

Support and success

Despite the potential, it will take more than a decade for new products to be certified and brought to market.

According to Sam Cooke, an ecologist at Rothamsted Research Centre, alternative pest control methods are not really being implemented and are being 'stuck' in research laboratories.

“All this pest control is practically free. The problem is that we're not using it properly for farmers," says Cook.

According to her, regulation is a big part of the problem. Companies are reluctant to invest in alternatives because they know that the regulatory process is difficult and expensive and they assume that the investment is not justified.

“This means that the burden of risk rests squarely on the shoulders of farmers. Right now there doesn't seem to be enough reward for those farmers who are trying to do the right thing. This needs to change. If the EU is really aiming for the 2030 target, we need to try to build some sort of alternative control," says Cook.

According to the Commission, "the key barrier to the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) and new technologies is the uncertainty faced by farmers regarding their effectiveness and correct use".