Reclaiming Mancozeb: Time to Restore the Tool That Helps European farmers Feed Europe
'You grow it or you mine it', as the saying goes. Simple as it may sound, it highlights a fundamental reality of our life – nearly all critical resources come either from earth below or the soil above. As potato and apple farmers in the EU, we stand proudly on the side of growing.
Yet working on land is not always easy. Each season brings new challenges: changing weather conditions, shifting market dynamics, as well as persistent threats from various crop diseases. We are fortunate to have access to essential tools – such as fertilisers and fungicides – that help us protect the yield and make the most of every hectare.
Tools such as Mancozeb – a highly effective and affordable solution for ensuring crops resistance from increasingly severe crop diseases driven by climate change. For over 60 years, European farmers have been using mancozeb to protect potatoes, grapes, cereals, and fruits from fungal diseases including the most deadly one – potato late blight.
Sadly, we have been deprived of this tool in 2020, as a result of a damning European Commission's decision to withdraw the authorisation of Mancozeb in the EU. The ruling looked simple on paper: 'The approval of the active substance mancozeb is not renewed'.
Behind that ruling, lied reliance on outdated and unreliable (as not based on good laboratory practice) data going back as far as 1980, weak scientific evidence, conservative opinions and unjustified reluctance to consider new facts and industry input. This poor judgement led to significant financial losses and reduced yields for European famers, potato and apple producers in particular, – a vital sector that the European Commission is supposed to support and protect.
Let us give a few examples:
Losing Mancozeb in France – the EU's second biggest potato producer – has reduced the ability of potato growers to combat late blight and apple growers to fight scab; as well as leaving them with no solution against rust diseases. Growers are now faced with difficult decisions about replanting crops or shifting production entirely in some historical production areas.
Having been deprived of the opportunity to use Mancozeb, Polish potato industry – fourth biggest in the EU – has been suffering year-on-year losses and increased production costs.
In Portugal, where small and medium-sized potato producers predominate, the absence of Mancozeb forces the use of alternative solutions which are generally fewer in number and more expensive.
After five years of uncertainty, difficulties, and legal proceedings, there is finally a glimmer of hope on the horizon. In October 2024, the European Court of Justice challenged the decision to withdraw the authorisation of Mancozeb in the EU, citing various procedural errors.
The General Court hearing that follows the court ruling is set to take place on 1 July 2025 and may become the first step in overturning the Commission's non-renewal decision and lead to the reinstatement of Mancozeb in Europe. It may also be a turning point in our efforts to regain this important tool to effectively fight plant disease at affordable costs. It would also be a return to strong and objective science.
Even more so, it contributes to the EU's efforts to achieve food security and price stability, especially in the face of climate-related crop pressures and mounting trade tensions that threaten the competitiveness of EU agriculture.
You grow it or you mine it. And while the soil we cultivate here in Europe may not glitter like a mine, what we yield is just as valuable: agricultural resilience, support for local economies, and safer food for European citizens.
To continue delivering these benefits, we need the right tools – and the support to use them. Mancozeb should be back and subjected for a fair and transparent risk assessment that would pave the way for its approval in Europe.
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