Blog

Wednesday, February 21, 2018.

None of this would happen if companies would seek approval for their plant protection products in Kenya. When you ask them why they do not, they say that they do not have the resources to generate a data package for Kenya. I think that is great! Because it means that they would see an advantage in generating only ONE data package for the World instead of generating one for each country. If they create ONE data package, regulators will finally get identical information and will be able to reach identical or at least compatible regulatory decisions.

Governments have worked together worldwide for 25 years to develop the tools needed to generate ONE data package. I appeal to all companies to use this material, to generate ONE data package and to give it to all regulators. Non-tariff trade-barriers, bans and crop rejections will disappear, and produce in Africa will be as healthy as consumers in Europe want their food to be.

On Sunday, February 4, I will go to Oman for the first time. I look forward to it and hope to find people's interest in international cooperation in the authorization of pesticides. Like an other country, Oman has pests, it has scientists and it has internet access. That is all that it takes to participate in these efforts.

The only way for people to be part of their environment rather than thinking that we can control it, is by cooperating. Nature and Science do not have political borders, nor should the authorization process of products that we develop to ensure our safety. Let's make sure we use them in a beneficial way rather than in a dangerous way.