PESTEFFECT · Towards effective and efficient pest management in agriculture
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-02-01 → 2024-02-02
- EU contribution
- €184,708
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Towards effective and efficient pest management in agriculture
The protection of crops from pests and pathogens is crucial for food security and incomes of farmers. However, currently agricultural pest management mainly relies on the use of pesticides. Studies have shown that the intensive use of pesticides can have important adverse effects on the environment and human health, and affect (long-term) agricultural productivity, e.g., through the reduction of important ecosystem services provided by soil organsisms or bees. The Europen Union has therefore formulated the goal of reducing pesticide use and risks in the "Sustainable Use Directive" and member states have introduced National Action Plans to reduce risks from pesticide use by 30% over the last decade. The recent From Farm to Fork strategy of the European Commission even goes one step further and foresees a 50% reduction of pesticide use and risks. However, despite these policy efforts no tangible progress on pesticide risk reduction has been over the last decade. An important research question adressed in the PESTEFFECT project is therefore how to effectively and efficiently reduce pesticide use and risks, while protecting crop yields and incomes. Existing literature has found that farmer behavior plays an important role for effective and efficient pesticide policies. Nevertheless, most literature has not considered the important link and the interconnectedness of socio-economic and ecological drivers for effective and efficient pest management.The project therefore aimed to empirically identify economically and ecologically effective pest management strategies to support i) farmers in the transformation of pest management and ii) support policymakers in the design of policy measures supporting this transition. To this end, it used a unique dataset on crop management decisions, socio-economic characteristics of farmers, and ecological characteristics on a field and landscape level in the Western plains of France (Zone Atelier Plaine et Val de Sèvre).
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Résumé: The reduction of environmental and health risks from pesticide use is a major challenge for agriculture and on top of the agricultural policy agenda. Despite substantial efforts, current pesticide policies have not reached their reduction targets. Recent research shows that targeting farmers’ application behavior could be key for advancing pesticide policies. However, our theoretical understanding of the farmers’ decision-making process is limited and empirical studies on the main drivers of inefficient decisions are missing. The interdisciplinary PESTEFFECT project will i) advance our understanding of farmers’ pesticide use decisions, ii) quantify impacts of the main drivers of inefficient decisions, and iii) identify risk reduction potentials on a regional level. In the project, we will i) develop a conceptual and empirical model of farmers’ pesticide use decisions that integrates concepts from agricultural economics, agronomy, and ecology, ii) provide the first empirical analysis of economic and environmental effects of inefficient pest management decisions using an econometric model and iii) provide temporally- and spatially explicit assessments of risk reduction potentials on a regional level using multi-layered maps. For our analysis, we will use a unique, long-term dataset on farmers’ management decisions, environmental conditions, and biodiversity (losses) from Western France. Results will support the development of pesticide policies targeting inefficient pest management decisions and the creation of guidelines for farmers and farm advisors. The project will thus contribute to a more sustainable agriculture in Europe.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · ParisCoordinatorFrance
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union