Post harvest protection against insects in the bulk grain supply chain the views of economic operators

Abstract

European (EU-27) grain & oilseeds storers are regularly facing insect management issues. Under worldwide trading standards, the grain industry is committed to maintaining the “zero tolerance” for live insects (WTO-SPS agreements). The grain being harvested each year therefore has to be stored in a manner which ensures that these standards are met. The presence of living insects in stored grains would jeopardize the supply of the grain & oilseeds supply chain, both for food and feed as well as for exports. In this context, our survey covers a quantity of agri-product that is equivalent to 5% of the EU-27 production. Results show that storage operators need several modes of action in order to prevent and cure the build-up of insect infestations in grain while avoiding pest resistance. Ventilation, silo cleaning and fumigation are important aspects in the implementation of an integrated pest management. Because of legislative restrictions, we now rely on one fumigant and on only a limited number of residual storage insecticides. As a result, we show that European operators will face difficulties to combine the available management technique. Therefore we stress the need for legislative development together with an increase in research and development of new active substances. In addition, flexibility should be given to producers which are willing to submit a product composed with a generic active substance.