The emergence of pesticide-free crop production systems in Europe

Pesticide risk reduction is a priority in European agricultural policies, but how to reach these targets remains an open question. Against this background, a novel approach for transforming pest management practices is currently gaining momentum in Europe: pesticide-free, non-organic production systems. These involve the non-use of pesticides in parts of crop rotations or entire crop rotations but do not comply with other organic farming regulations. Here we present insights into the first real-world examples of such systems, in Switzerland and Germany. In both countries, pesticide-free production was initiated jointly by farmers and downstream actors some years ago. This was followed by the launch of public support schemes in 2023. We discuss the functioning and impacts of these examples, as well as farmers' adoption behaviour. Compared with organic production, the reviewed pesticide-free production schemes are more flexible and have lower adoption hurdles for farmers, as well as lower yield losses. These characteristics facilitate the large-scale adoption of pesticide-free production systems. Moreover, pesticide-free can become a clear-cut and simple production standard. Pesticide-free production can thus be a disruptive approach to create a tangible 'third way' between conventional and organic production. However, there are various adoption barriers and pesticide-free production would not currently be profitable without support in most cases.