France Plans to Eliminate Glyphosate Use By 2021, USDA Says

France plans to eliminate glyphosate use by 2021 with “limited exceptions,” according to a May 2 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture' Foreign Agricultural Service. France Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume, who made the announcement, also said the country hopes to slash “pesticide, insecticide and fungicide” in half by 2025, saying the country should “revert to the farming methods used by their grandparents,” according to the report. The announcement was met with negative reaction from French farmers and farm unions, who claimed that “style of farming” could reduce production by 30 percent to 40 percent below today's levels, USDA said. In April, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue called Vietnam's recent ban on the importation of glyphosate “devastating” and said it could cause significant ramifications for global agricultural production (see 1904120011).