Estonian berry growers are facing problems with plant protection products. They cannot use enough resources to protect plants, making their work more difficult.
Joosepi Farm in Põlva County is one of the largest strawberry growers. A lot of work is done there to establish new planting areas. However, the GPS signal is often disrupted, making the work more difficult. The climate is changing, and with it, plant diseases and pests are also increasing.
Renet Roositalu, the owner of Joosepi Farm, says that Estonia lacks a unified plant protection policy. For example, the strawberry weevil, which is a major pest in strawberry fields, can destroy the entire harvest. In Estonia, only one product is approved against the weevil, while in Poland, there are eight.
Raimond Strastin, the executive director of the Estonian Horticulture Association, says that Estonia is a small market for plant protection product manufacturers. Therefore, they are not interested in registering their products here. At the same time, products not registered in Estonia cannot be used.
Agriculture Minister Hendrik Terras says that a solution could be the regional approval of plant protection products. If a product is approved, for example, in Latvia or Lithuania, it should also be approved in Estonia.
The European Commission’s new Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Cristophe Hansen, says he understands Estonia’s problem. He promises to seek a solution to ensure food security.