Micheal Clements, NAFB News Service

The European Crop Protection Association announced this week it will now operate as CropLife Europe. The rebranding also changes the association mandate to include digital and precision farming, plant biotech innovation and biopesticides alongside conventional pesticides. The launch of CropLife Europe comes as EU policymakers and governments are increasingly calling on the agriculture and the food system to transition to a more sustainable model. A CropLife Europe spokesperson says, “an agile association representing a host of technologies under one roof will be better equipped to represent the integrated solutions needed to deliver sustainable agriculture.” Another representative says the European Commission’s Green Deal is “a real game-changer,” adding it provides “a great opportunity to deliver more sustainable agriculture.” The expanded organization will encompass a wider range of topics, including pesticides, conservation efforts, and precision agriculture. Finally, the organization will focus on plant biotech traits that enable crops to thrive in difficult conditions using less resources or provide greater benefit in diets.