Study supporting the evaluation of Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides and impact assessment of its possible revision : final impact assessment report

The European Commission is undertaking a back-to-back evaluation of Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides (SUD) and impact assessment of its possible revision. This support study provides an assessment of the potential environmental, economic and social/human health impacts of achieving the Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy pesticide use and risk reduction targets by 2030, as well as an assessment into the impacts of possible revisions to the SUD. Overall, achieving the F2F targets related to pesticides would likely generate environmental and social/health benefits, and contribute to a sustainable and safe food production in the EU. However, the pesticide targets in the F2F Strategy would need to be accompanied by strong action on habitat loss to reverse current negative trends in biodiversity loss. Economic impacts would be expected along the food value chain, mainly negative in conventional agriculture and trade, which could be mitigated through policy intervention. The possible revisions of SUD would likely bring additional costs for professional pesticide users and the expected gain would be a reduced use (cost) of pesticides, which could potentially offset the direct costs.