Overview state of the art knowledge and regulations for pesticides with a lower risk profile

Samenvatting

Including more low-risk pesticides of biological origin as alternatives to chemical pesticides in agriculture is considered an important way forward to reach the Farm to Fork strategy target of a 50% decrease of the use of more hazardous pesticides by 2030. Low-risk pesticides, as defined by the current European Union (EU)plant protection Commission Regulation EC No 1107/2009, include pesticides of biological origin, but not all biological pesticides meet the low-risk profile requirements. In order to be granted low-risk status they must meet low-risk criteria defined by Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. However, risk assessment procedures are designed for synthetic products with an expected high risk, which complicates the approval of products with an expected or known lower risk. Important steps forward have been taken in the past years, for example the acceptance of uniform principles and data requirements that facilitate the approval of microbial pesticides(Regulation [EC] No 1107/2009). Nonetheless, for other low-risk pesticides of biological origin, specific requirements are lacking. Biopesticides are still slow in obtaining approval, which hinders the replacement of toxic synthetic chemicals. This limits the choices for farmers and encourages derogations for toxic synthetic compounds. This paper summarises the bottlenecks encountered when performing a risk assessment for the authorization of biological pesticides and low-risk pesticides. It also lists recommendations on how to foster the use of pesticides with a lower environmental impact and potential next steps in the research agenda