Agronomy

SPRINT addresses European Commission call SFS-04-2019-2020: Integrated health approaches and alternatives to pesticide use: A. [2019]: Integration of plant protection in a global health approach (RIA). Farming systems in Europe rely strongly on the use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) to secure yields and food safety in plant production and animal husbandry, using an average 340,000-370,000 tons of active substances per annually, as multiple PPP residues are commonly found in soil, water, crops, food and feed, animals and humans. Of the 487 substances approved in the EU market and combined in several thousand different commercial PPPs (EPPO, 2018), almost 50% are bioaccumulative and 25% are persistent in soil (PPDB, 2018). According to the EU Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (CLP), 30% have a high acute aquatic toxicity and 28 are suspected carcinogens. These properties, among others, are potentially harmful to ecosystem, plant, animal and human (EPAH) health.However, data on the distribution of PPPs across European agricultural landscapes, that account for ecological and environmental variability, are scarce and fragmented (Silva et al. 2019). There is a need to harmonise data collection approaches across Europe and collect the critical data necessary to deliver integrated approaches to fully assess overall risks and impacts of PPP formulations, residues and their metabolites. Although a general framework for the sustainable use of PPPs is in place (EU, 2009a), the tools, methods and measures, especially those aimed at a global assessment of impacts, are lacking. Transdisciplinary assessments, using a global health approach which include cost-benefit (C-B) analysis (to reduce reliance on PPPs while safeguarding the competitiveness of EU agriculture), are necessary to define transition paths to more sustainable use of PPPs. The overall aim of SPRINT is to develop, test, validate and deliver a Global Health Risk Assessment Toolbox for the integrated assessment of the impacts of PPPs [formulations (F), active substances (a.S.), metabolites (Me) and mixtures (Mi)] on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (E), plant (P), animal (A) and human (H) health. Three main attributes for the health status will be examined: resilience, reproduction/productivity and manifestation of diseases, while transition pathways towards sustainable use of PPPs will be identified in a multi-actor approach.

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