Integrated Pest Management – Can it Contribute to Sustainable Food Production in Europe with Less Reliance on Conventional Pesticides?

Abstract

A suite of European Union (EU) legislation under a thematic strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides constitutes the policy instruments supporting the wishes of the European Parliament to achieve significant reductions in the use of conventional pesticides in EU agriculture. The adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) is the main pillar of the strategy to decrease pesticide use while maintaining or expanding present levels of European food production. This paper supports this approach in principle, but argues that the rapid pace of pesticide withdrawals will decrease farm output and/or the profitability of farming. Furthermore, there are insufficient IPM component technologies and systems available to farmers which offer practical and economically viable alternatives to fill the gap in the crop protection toolbox that widens with each additional pesticide removal.

Keywords

integrated pest management food security Europe IPM

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