SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF NEMATODE CONTROL- THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CHOICES

Italy is characterized by a high marked value agro-industrial system, that relies on high value, quality and technological production, with increasing attention to sustainability. An agriculture that, however, still requires significant use of production factors as pesticides, which must be properly managed. This is particularly true in soil-borne parasitic nematodes control that, despite several proposed alternatives, still rely on chemicals as soil fumigants, due to their impact and severe losses in high value crops grown under intensive growing system. Current legislation, which mandates sustainable agriculture, does not impose the choice of strategy to be employed, leaving farmers with the responsibility to decide within a wide range of possibilities. However, the sustainable use of fumigants, given the complexity of the subject, the great uncertainty on the effectiveness of alternative treatments to chemicals, due to the lack of eradicant effect and, for high value crops, the scale of investments required, necessitates a multi-stakeholder approach involving various parties beyond just farmers, including both private sector and public entities. The proposal of this work is the production of a document agreed upon by multiple parties, that outline needs and critical issues, summarizes key ideas, and suggests necessary actions that could serve as a valuable tool for decision-makers, encouraging them to consider and support all effective solutions and techniques to achieve the European objectives regarding soil fumigants risk reduction and exposure, through proper implementation of IPM. To this end, a multi-phase approach combing several levels of information (1-consultation, to gather data with qualitative interview, 2- engagement, for sharing data, expert perspective and knowledge, 3- feedback) is proposed, following also the Expert Knowledge Elicitation EFSA guidance. The goal is to acquire qualitative data on how issues related to limiting and/or better targeting fumigant use against major soil-borne pathogens, are addressed by users, to develop and suggest strategies and tools for better and more effective management and communication regarding environmental and human’s risk. The initiative emphasizes sustainable integrated nematode management as a cornerstone for achieving this goal. Results will feed a shared position paper aimed at facilitating dialogue among stakeholders, ensuring that diverse perspectives are included in decision-making processes