The European Citizens Initiative Save Bees and Farmers has reached its goal with almost 1.2 million signatures by 30 September 2021.
We thank all the people who joined the initiative! The success is almost there but first, the national authorities need to validate the 1.2 million signatures. The validation process should finish at the beginning of spring 2022.
If 1 million valid signatures are reached, the initiative will receive a certificate allowing it to present its demands to the EU Commission. The Commission will come with a reaction and this will be discussed in the EU Parliament.
The Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies of the European Commission set two key targets for pesticides reduction:
First to reduce by 50% the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 2030 and second to reduce by 50% the use of more hazardous pesticides by 2030.
To effectively counter the decline of environmental health, the Save Bees and Farmers ECI is calling for more ambitious goals:
Phase-out synthetic pesticides by 2035:
Phase-out synthetic pesticides in EU agriculture by 80% by 2030, starting with the most hazardous, to become 100% pesticide-free by 2035.
Restore biodiversity:
Restore natural ecosystems in agricultural areas so that farming becomes a vector of biodiversity recovery.
Support farmers in the transition:
Reform agriculture by prioritising small-scale, diverse and sustainable farming, supporting a rapid increase in agroecological and organic practice, and enabling independent farmer-based training and research into pesticide- and GMO-free farming.