Assessing the environmental, economic and social impacts of practices aimed at reducing pesticide use on farms

The potential environmental, economic and social effects of each practice that can be used to reduce pesticide use in arable farming systems are identified, and one or more indicators are proposed to assess each effect. A simple and rapid method for characterising combinations of practices or strategies to reduce pesticide use is applied to the cropping systems of nine farms in Seine-et-Marne committed to reducing pesticide use. The trajectories of the cropping systems are described and compared with changes in the indicators. It appears that farmers are employing a wide range of combinations of practices to reduce the use of plant protection products. Furthermore, not all the expected ‘effects’, particularly in environmental terms, are clearly evident.