New study shows contradictory EU policies undermined UK OCR industry

In the UK, contradictory EU policies first encouraged and then undermined the farming of a major biofuel in Europe, according to a new analysis from Rothamsted Research.

Climate change polices initially rewarded the widespread planting of oilseed rape – the world’s most important vegetable oil after soybean – but subsequent pesticide laws have ultimately led to very large yield losses across the continent in recent years.

This collapse of oilseed rape farming in the UK and Europe had led to a reliance on imported oils – including palm oil, the growing of which is often responsible for tropical deforestation, and oilseed rape from countries still using pesticides banned by the EU.

Published in the journal GCB-Bioenergy, the case study reviews why, in the early 2000s, the EU introduced a series of policies and market-based incentives to encourage the production of biofuels in order to meet their obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

After the EU implemented these pro-biofuel policies, the area of oilseed rape harvested increased by 78% between 2003 – 2010, achieving a record harvested area of 6.4 million hectares in 2010.

Oilseed rape is the second largest source of vegetable oil globally, and the most important biofuel feedstock in the European Union.

However, this huge increase in the area of oilseed rape grown across Europe, reduced both the variety of other crops grown and the amount of natural habitat on farms.

These led to population booms of the cabbage stem flea beetle and another pest, the pollen beetle, which both feed on the plant. To fight back, farmers increased their use of pesticides, especially neonicotinoids.

In attempt to curtail excessive pesticide use, the EU’s response was the 2009 Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive – but uneven and often poor implementation by member states ultimately led the EU to ban outright the use of neonicotinoids four years later over concerns it was harming bee populations.

The ban led to increased use of another type of pesticide, pyrethroid, which inevitably led to pesticide resistance arising in the beetles.

With no way to control them, widespread crop failures and significant yield losses for farmers have become commonplace. Since 2018 the area of oilseed rape grown in Europe has collapsed to 2006 level