“The reduction of pesticide use is one of the critical drivers to preserve the environment and human health,” according to recent research published in Nature Plants¹ and I couldn’t agree more.

Even many farmers are interested in cutting their usage, especially in the midst of growing lawsuits alleging that the most commonly used herbicide, glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup), may be causing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in farmers.

In some ways the cards are stacked against them, however, as the people who often advise farmers on pesticide usage are agrochemical company employees, working on commission. Reducing pesticide usage is not in their, or the companies’, best financial interest, which only encourages overuse.

Without knowledge of how to reduce pesticide usage, and how it might affect yields, many farmers are reluctant to try.

The Nature Plants study is a major step forward, however, as it found most farmers can reduce their pesticide usage without decreasing their productivity and profits — and in some cases the move may even increase them.