This page is a part of the corpus (Annexe 1) used to write Stéphane Foucart and neonicotinoids.
Here, I relate what the journalist said in his article “Un moratoire inutile sur les insecticides tueurs d’abeilles”. All quotes, originally in French, were translated by me.
There is no reason to celebrate the moratorium suspending certain uses of fipronil and 3 NNI for 2 years.
First, we wasted time: an expert report commissioned by the Minister of Agriculture and published in 2003 already concluded that imidacloprid posed an “unacceptable risk”.
Second, the decision will “probably do nothing” as the moratorium is less than the lifespan in the environment of the NNIs. A study published in the journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability reportedly concluded that “neonicotinoids show the potential to accumulate in the soil and can be taken up by subsequent crops for at least two years after application.” Its authors recall, citing a 2005 study, that “Imidacloprid was detected in 97% of 33 soil samples taken from untreated fields, but on which coated corn seeds had been used one to two years. before the samples are taken”.
Finally, NNIs are not effective. David Goulson has shown in a review published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, the lack of correlation between yields (rapeseed and wheat) and the amount of NNI used.