Pesticide Management Strategies in Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture seeks to reconcile the need for reliable crop yields with the protection of human health and the environment. Pesticide management strategies have evolved from blanket chemical applications towards integrated approaches that combine biological, cultural, physical and chemical controls. Central to this shift is the promotion of agroecological practices—such as crop diversification, habitat enhancement and soil health management—that enhance natural pest regulation. Precision-agriculture technologies, including site-specific application and digital monitoring, enable more judicious pesticide use and reduce off-target losses. Policy instruments, ranging from agri-environmental payments to tax schemes and regulatory caps, create economic incentives and disincentives to guide farmer behaviour. Social and institutional factors, such as extension services, market standards and collective certification schemes, influence adoption pathways. Emerging research underscores the importance of scenario analysis and robust modelling to forecast future pesticide demands under changing climate, socioeconomic conditions and pest pressures. Taken together, these strategies form a multifaceted toolbox designed to minimise pesticide inputs while safeguarding crop productivity, biodiversity and water quality on a global scale.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have refined estimates of the impacts of pesticide reduction on crop yields, demonstrating that worst-case assumptions can be overly pessimistic when positive ecological feedbacks are accounted for. Modelling work in a European context indicates that modest reductions in synthetic pesticide use can be compensated by enhanced biological control and soil resilience, leading to stable or even increased long-term yields. This research highlights the critical role of ecosystem services, such as natural enemy populations and nutrient cycling, in maintaining production under reduced chemical regimes.

Pesticide Management Strategies in Sustainable Agriculture publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in pesticide management strategies in sustainable agriculture across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Integrated Pest Management: a systematic approach combining cultural, biological and chemical methods to minimise pest damage while reducing pesticide reliance.

Eco-Scheme: an agri-environmental payment mechanism that incentivises farmers to adopt specified sustainable practices, such as reduced synthetic pesticide use.

Shared Socio-economic Pathway: a scenario framework outlining potential future developments in society, economy and technology to inform environmental policy and impact assessments.

Biocontrol: the deliberate use of living organisms, such as predators or pathogens, to suppress pest populations.

References

1. Pesticide reduction amidst food and feed security concerns in Europe. Nature Food (2023).
2. National leverage points to reduce global pesticide pollution. Global Environmental Change (2023).
3. Pesticide-free agriculture as a new paradigm for research. Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2022).
4. Reduction potentials of chemical-synthetic pesticides – A case study using the example of an Eco-Scheme in southern Germany. Farming System (2024).
5. Extending shared socio-economic pathways for pesticide use in Europe: Pest-Agri-SSPs. Journal of Environmental Management (2023).
6. Assessment of policy instruments for pesticide use reduction in Europe; Learning from a systematic literature review. Crop Protection (2019).