French Environment Minister Monique Barbu has announced her resignation. He has taken this decision in protest against the controversial agriculture bill, in which the use of two banned pesticides has been approved. According to the Associated Press (AP), scientists say that these pesticides are harmful for bees and other pollinating insects. Barbu, who became Environment Minister, will submit her resignation to President Emmanuel Macron today. The French Parliament introduced this bill on Tuesday. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 214-111. The government claimed that this law is being brought to help the farmers. He says that farmers are facing problems like decreasing income and increasing cost of farming. The two provisions of the bill are the most controversial: 1. Approval of pesticides: Giving temporary approval to the use of banned pesticides acetamiprid and flupyradifuron. It can be used in the cultivation of beetroot, apple and cherry. Disadvantage- Environmentalists say that this will reduce the number of bees rapidly which will affect pollination. This will have an adverse impact on the production and income of farmers. 2. Permission to store water: Farmers should easily get permission to build large reservoirs or artificial ponds for irrigation. Disadvantages- Environmentalists say that these reservoirs are filled with large amounts of water from groundwater and rivers. This may reduce the level of rivers and groundwater in summer, which will affect the ecosystem. Both the provisions, which were added at the last moment, led to increased opposition among environmentalists and the government regarding these provisions. In protest against this, Environment Minister Monique Barbu has decided to step down. She said she was against both the proposals related to pesticides and water storage. Both of these provisions were added to the bill at the last minute so that it could be passed by the conservative majority Senate. Barbu alleged that contrary to the promise made to him, the government did not allow any discussion on removing this provision. Barbu wrote on social media, in the last nine months I worked to protect forests, clean water, clean air, fertile soil and biodiversity. But the opposing forces have become so strong that I am not able to fulfill my objectives. Politics is not my world and if politics is like this, it can never become my world. Government’s logic behind the approval of pesticides: The government says that the decision to bring new provisions has been taken to help those farmers who are going through difficult times. Farming has become difficult due to increasing costs and decreasing income of farmers. According to the government, if limited use of pesticides is not allowed, then French farmers will not be able to compete with farmers of other countries in Europe. Because the use of these pesticides is already allowed in many European countries. French Agriculture Minister Anne Genevard also expressed displeasure over Barbu’s protest. He said, “If this law had not been passed due to protests or political reasons, the farmers, who were already facing difficulties, would have been in more trouble.” This pesticide has been in controversy before too
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