Last Friday's decision by the Member States to support the Commission's proposal for new restrictions on neonicotinoids is disappointing, but not unexpected. Syngenta does not believe that today's decision is the right result for European farmers or for the environment.

What we need today, more than ever, is for farmers to guarantee the supply of safe and affordable food, while minimizing the negative impact and amplifying the positive effects agriculture has on the environment. The evidence clearly shows that neonicotinoids represent a minimal threat to the health of bees compared to the lack of food, disease and cold weather.

Technology and other related advances can benefit all agricultural systems. All farmers, whether large or small, conventional or organic, can be more productive while conserving scarce resources, protecting nature and improving biodiversity. By constantly improving the chemistry and developing products such as neonicotinoids, we can help farmers continue to protect their crops from insects and weeds, while minimizing the impact on the environment and human health.

The fact that the Commission relies on an unapproved normative document (the Guide Document on the Risk of Bees) to propose a new ban on neonicotinoids is not solid and will not address the challenges we face in ensuring a safe and reliable food supply at the same time that we take care of the environment. In fact, the guidance document on the risk of the bee is so conservative and is so far removed from the reality of agriculture that its application would see most, if not all, banned agricultural chemicals, including, for example, those use in organic agriculture.

We support our products and our science. We will continue to help farmers put food and habitat for pollinators in the agricultural landscape through the development of good technology, supported by programs such as Operation Pollinator. Since 2001, Operation Pollinator has had a positive impact on more than 5 million hectares of arable land around the world and we will continue to rely on our more than 100,000 bee hives in Europe and around the world to pollinate our seeds for production.