WHITEHALL has confirmed that farmers will be permitted to apply a neo-nicotinoid insecticide to sugar beet crops during 2023 - despite evidence suggesting it has an adverse impact on wildlife, notably bees and other pollinating insects
Following pressure from farmers and the agro-chemical industry, Defra has reversed its 2018 prohibition on the use of 'neonics'
The decision open the door for the product, Cruiser SB, which contains a 'neonic' insecticide known as thiamethoxam.
A statement issued last week reads: "After careful consideration of all the issues, the Government has decided to grant an application for emergency authorisation to allow the use of the product, Cruiser SB, for the treatment of sugar beet seed.
"This is in recognition of the potential damage posed to the 2023 crop from damaging yellows virus (YV) which is carried by aphids."
The decision has been signed off by Defra minister Mark Spencer.
The statement says any such applications must be "limited and controlled".
Cruiser SB is manufactured by Syngenta, formerly Swiss-owned but now part of Chem-China, a Chinese state-owned enterprise.
Syngenta has its UK base outside Market Rasen in Lincolnshire.
It is not known if neo-nicotinoids are also applied to crops in China.
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