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An inside view on pesticide policy

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 2, pages 920–921 (2018)Cite this article

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European governments are poised to ban neonicotinoid pesticides. Insights from six years as a senior government advisor have led me to conclude that agricultural reform is urgently needed, beyond cycles of pesticide licensing and withdrawal.

New pesticides are typically licensed for use based on the guidance written on the label of the container. This guidance is constructed from efficacy and safety testing conducted in specific circumstances, but which cannot simulate all the conditions encountered by users. As demand for a new pesticide increases, growers develop farming systems and business structures that rely on it. But as unanticipated impacts and pest resistance begin to appear, community opposition to the pesticide grows, chemical companies scramble to develop ‘less harmful’ variants, and governments struggle to balance their obligations to food production and environmental responsibility. As the evidence base against the pesticide grows, governments withdraw licences for use and growers are left to pick up the pieces.

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Acknowledgements

I.L.B. is chief scientific advisor at DEFRA. The views in this paper are the author’s own.

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  1. University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK

    Ian L. Boyd

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  1. Ian L. Boyd
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Correspondence to Ian L. Boyd.

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Boyd, I.L. An inside view on pesticide policy. Nat Ecol Evol 2, 920–921 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0557-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0557-8

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