The James Hutton Institute
This page is no longer updated. The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute joined forces with SCRI on 1 April 2011 to create The James Hutton Institute.
THE STATE OF SCOTLAND'S FARMED ENVIRONMENT 2005
30. VOLUNTARY INITIATIVE
THE FUTURE OF THE VOLUNTARY INITIATIVE
Some recent findings of a House of Commons EFRA Committee are (VI, 2005):
- The Government should provide financial support for the national rollout of the water catchment projects and help to facilitate ongoing professional training using rural development funds.
- The VI should be renewed after its current programme ends in March 2006 and its remit be re-focused on catchment-sensitive farming and other water issues.
- Some of the VI targets were insufficiently challenging and there was currently little irrefutable evidence of the environmental benefits that had resulted.
- VI schemes for sprayer testing and operator registration should be made mandatory.
The VI, which is currently scheduled to end in March 2006, is recommended to be extended after that date, with a special focus on water catchment areas. A further recommendation is to make some of its measures mandatory.
Sources
Garthwaite, D . (2004): A Survey of Current Farm Sprayer Practices in the United Kingdom 2004. Central Science Laboratories; External Website
NFUS (2005): Sprayer Testing and Crop Plans Priorities Highlighted; News Article No 12/05; External Website
SEPA (2002): The Voluntary Initiative – minimising the environmental impacts of pesticides in the UK. SEAP View: Farming Special; External Website
The Voluntary Initiative website: External Website
VI (2005): Fourth Annual Report of the Voluntary Initiative Steering Group; External Website
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