Politicians and growers discuss biocontrol and the agricultural transition

Award winning journalist Pierre Girard regularly reports on environmental and agricultural issues, and now wants to understand more about the politics that drive them.

In his latest film, Brussels Sprouts, he visits Vincent a tomato grower using biocontrol in the Netherlands along with Anja Hazecamp and Carolin von der Plas, politicians who do not always agree on how we should deal with the agricultural transition.

Anja Hazekamp, a Member of the European Parliament, belongs to The Left Group and is vice-chair of the Environment Committee.

Caroline van der Plas, a member of the Dutch House of Representatives, is the founder of the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), the first party to actively call for farmers’ protests in Europe.

Vincent takes the group on a tour of the greenhouse explaining how he uses biocontrol, the politicians get to release some beneficial insects and everyone discusses support for biocontrol. 

“My goal is not to influence political choices, but to share facts.  In Brussels Sprouts I focus not only on science, but also on how European policy supports the transition to sustainable agriculture. This documentary shows the voices of the people who work every day to create a better future for our agriculture.”
Pierre Girard

This film was made during the IBMA field trip in September 2024 when we took a diverse group of agri-stakeholders to visit farmers in Belgium and the Netherlands to see how biocontrol works.