Only sustainable practices, with prevention coming first, will be able to feed the world, writes Henriette Christensen.

Henriette Christensen is senior policy advisor at PAN Europe, an anti-pesticides NGO.

PAN Europe has read EurActiv's special report Europe entering the era of precision farming and believes it is time to define what this term actually covers, and where it is useful.

While we fully recognise that there are aspects of precision farming which are useful (like weather forecasts and pest simulation programs), we are completely opposed to the argument that precision farming is the key to ensuring sustainability of agricultural production.

Modern technologies, covering smart phones and internet-linked programs, allow farmers to integrate weather forecasts and pest simulation programs the in every-day life of a farm, that were not available only a decade ago. Other such technologies are modern equipment like satellite navigation tools, GPSs etc., which help farmers to target spray better. Some even argue that with tools like GMOs, seed treatment may also be considered precision farming.