CAP 2023-2027: Fostering Chemical weed protection with agroecological practices

Attending to the Eurostat statistics the pesticides sales in the EU amounted 292000 tons in 2023 with a share of 52% for the biggest EU countries (France, Spain, Germany, Poland and Italy). Moreover, the highest sales of the pesticide category “herbicides, haulm destructors and moss killers” are also in France, Spain, Germany, Poland and Italy (Figure 1). There are different types of herbicides sold in Europe with different types of impacts on soil, environment and human health. The most relevant types of herbicides used in Europe are the organophosphorus including glyphosate with a share of 34.9% followed by those based on amides and anilides (18,5%) and thiocarbamates (10.8%). The current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027 is the EU’s primary financial and regulatory instrument to deliver the objectives of the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy supported by over the 40% of the EU budget. The CAP is split in three main blocks including CAP conditionality, Pillar I and Pillar II. For the social conditionality herbicides reduction, optimization and use are linked to the promotion of the workers safety and health, adequate equipment use and training. For the CAP environmental conditionality, the SMR and GAEC activities such as adequate tillage management, crop rotation, avoiding bare soil, control diffuse sources of pollution by phosphates and nitrates and the maintenance of non productive areas or features in agricultural areas are promoted.