The European agricultural sector will undergo massive changes in the next few years. The guidelines of the Common Agricultural Policy will lead to a continuing reduction in classical farm inputs. The share of organic and integrated farming methods is on the rise across Europe. This is why Agro Innovation Lab will join RWA and the organic input expert biohelp to host a joint challenge on the topic of organic crop protection next year.
Agriculture in the European Union is at a turning point. If the guidelines from Brussels are anything to go by, Austrian farmers will be facing a multitude of new requirements by 2030. 27 targets have been set by the European Commission as part of its “Farm to Fork” strategy. By the end of the decade, the agricultural use of synthetic chemical fertilisers and conventional plant protection products is to be reduced by 20% and 50% respectively.
In addition to this reduction in the use of plant protection products, increasing numbers of classes of active ingredients can no longer be used due to the expiry of the relevant approvals. Agricultural businesses are thus dependent on alternatives if they are to safeguard crop yields. As a result, integrated farming in particular is becoming increasingly important. Many farms that are not certified as organic are already using organic crop production methods. The application of Trichogramma against the corn borer, which we also offer as a service with our drones, is just one example of this.
Due to this increasing demand for organic crop protection methods, our parent company, RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria, started focussing on the area of organic farm inputs in 2015. This was followed in 2016 by its investment in the company biohelp, the leading expert in the organic farm inputs sector in Austria. As a result, RWA has been able to establish a pioneering role, securing extensive know-how and access to both exciting innovations and tried-and-tested developments, which are available to farmers via the Raiffeisen Lagerhaus Group.
In order to be able to keep in touch with the latest trends in this highly important organic sector, the Agro Innovation Lab, together with Raiffeisen Ware Austria and biohelp, is planning its own innovation format for organic farm inputs for 2022. The focuses of the format will include new developments designed to combat problem pests and neophytes. The involvement of a range of stakeholders from industry, science and the statutory authorities will ensure that problems are examined from all sides and that new active ingredients and methods can be transferred from the research laboratory to the field.
It is through such initiatives that we, together with biohelp, will seek to further expand our pioneering role in the field of organic crop protection so that we will be able to continue offering products and solutions for the agriculture of tomorrow.