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SUSTAINABLE PLANT PROTECTION TRANSITION: A GLOBAL HEALTH APPROACH

Project description

DEENESFRITPL

Assessing integrated risks and impacts of pesticides

The EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy aims to reduce the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50 % and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50 % by 2030. This is the first time a quantified pesticide reduction target has been set at the EU level. The EU-funded SPRINT project will assist in achieving these targets. Bringing together a world-class team of scientists from around Europe and Argentina, the project will develop, test, validate and deliver a Global Health Risk Assessment Toolbox for the integrated assessment of the impacts of pesticides on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems as well as on plant, animal and human health. It will also assess the sustainability of alternative strategies to pesticide use and develop transition pathways to more sustainable plant protection.

Objective

SPRINT will develop and validate a Global Health Risk Assessment Toolbox to integrate assessments of the impacts of plant protection products (PPP) on ecosystem, plant, animal and human (EPAH) health, using three main attributes for health status: resilience, reproduction/productivity and manifestation of diseases. The goal is integrated risk assessment at the local, regional, national and European level, focusing on different PPP use patterns and detected residue mixtures in contrasting farming systems (conventional, integrated, organic). SPRINT consists of 9 interlinked work packages. The distribution and the impacts of PPP on EPAH health will be evaluated at 11 case study sites (CSS), ten located in diverse agricultural European landscapes, and one in Argentina (soy production for feed for EU market). PPP environmental pathways, and direct (food/feed ingestion) and indirect (air/dust inhalation and dermal uptake) animal and human exposure routes will be assessed to improve current fate, exposure, and toxicokinetic models (e.g. EFSA-FOCUS, BROWSE, BREAM). (Eco)toxicological assays will be performed based on CCS findings, using existing and improved procedures, including alternative testing criteria and new target organisms. Such assays will cover direct and indirect exposure to multiple PPP residues, realistic ranges of PPP concentrations, multi-species scenarios, and short- and long-term time horizons. Modelling of sustainability and cost-benefit analysis at the farm and macroeconomic level will be conducted to derive recommendations for sustainable transition pathways, and a research agenda on PPPs. SPRINT is based on a multi-actor approach with CCS platforms to engage stakeholders and identify respective needs, collaboration along relevant WPs, improving farmer and citizen awareness, joint development of novel management strategies for reduced reliance on PPP use, and creation of an enabling environment for adoption and change.

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Topic(s)

Call for proposal

H2020-SFS-2018-2020

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Sub call

H2020-SFS-2019-2

Funding Scheme

RIA - Research and Innovation action

Coordinator

WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY
Net EU contribution
€ 2 642 577,50
Address
DROEVENDAALSESTEEG 4
6708 PB Wageningen
Netherlands

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Region
Oost-Nederland Gelderland Veluwe
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost
€ 2 642 577,50

Participants (27)

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Last update: 18 December 2023

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Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/862568

European Union, 2024