EU pesticide reduction practices — The Netherlands as an example

than halved in that period. This is according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on the use of pesticides and plant protection products on 44 different agricultural crops. Plant protection products are are used in agriculture to prevent or control diseases, pests or weeds. Farmers used these products on nearly 98 percent of the agricultural land used to grow the 44 crops included in this study. That percentage has hardly changed since 2020. Plant protection products include both products that work using chemically active substances and those based on microbiologically active sub-stances (such as viruses or bacteria). Some of these products are also classified as green plant protection products, such as paraffin oil. In 2024, 26 percent of all plant protection products used were classified as green. Statistics Netherlands carries out a survey among agricultural holdings every four years to find out how much pesticides they use on each crop. Weather conditions play a ...