|
|
The Swiss winegrowers Peter Wehrli (Aargau) and Laurent de Coulon (Basle Country) want to sue the chemical company Bayer for millions in damages because of the pesticide "Moon Privilege". In 2015, the then new fungicide against powdery mildew had caused considerable damage to vines in many parts of Switzerland. What is extraordinary about this case is that "we observed something that we had not seen before with a fungicide: The harmful effects only occurred in the year after application," Jürg Jordi of the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture said, explaining the event. According to him, the leaves and the grapes could not develop properly. Depending on the grape variety and region, up to 80 percent of the harvest failed for the winegrowers in 2015. Bayer had agreed with most of the vintners on individual compensation payments, but without officially taking responsibility for the damage. Peter Wehrli and Laurent de Coulon were not satisfied with the company's offer and are now threatening to sue for damages. In parallel, a liability suit is running against the Swiss Confederation, which had approved the fungicide without sufficient testing. In the summer of 2015, the Federal Office for Agriculture withdrew the product's approval and it may no longer be used in viticulture.
"If a Bayer product causes damage, then I expect Bayer to pay for that damage," Peter Wehrli said at a press conference. But that was not the case with the company's offers, adds Lauren de Coulon from Sissach: "The offer was unacceptable. We had damages of about one million francs and Bayer wanted to pay 260,000 francs at the end, that is totally out of line.".
According to the Swiss television and radio station SRF, Bayer has rejected the winegrowers' demand. The offers that had already been made corresponded to the actual loss of yield suffered and were based on calculations by external experts. With the threat of legal action, the winegrowers want to build up pressure: If no agreement is reached with Bayer, the Zurich Commercial Court will have to deal with the case.
(ru / Source: SRF; Photo: 123rf.com)