Pesticides

Charlotte Smith is at the National Institute of Agricultural Botony (NIAB) in Cambridgeshire where scientists are breeding new strains of crops that are more disease and pest resistant but still produce higher yields. The programme is looking at pesticides, as a European consultation into endocrine disruptors comes to an end. Endocrine Disruptors are found within a wide range of substances, and can alter the hormones in humans and animals. The consultation could lead to more of them being banned from use.

We hear from those for and against chemical use in agriculture, and ask what is the way forward for farming in this atmosphere.

Produced by Sally Challoner.