Summary and conclusions

Det grønne pesticidregnskab

It has been the purpose of this project to develop an online tool capable of calculating the treatment frequency index for individual farms, based on information about pesticide use on the farms. It has also been the purpose to develop a tool capable of comparing the used amount of pesticide on a farm, with the use on national level and target figures for the treatment frequency index. Based on these tools, a so-called “green pesticide account” is generated. A green pesticide account is basically a comparison of the pesticide use on a farm and a crop level, with the average use on national level and target figures for the individual crops. With the green pesticide accounts it is the intention to provide the farmer with an immediate overview of areas, where an increased focus on the applied pesticide strategy could be beneficial.

In order to generate the green pesticide accounts, information from the spraying journal of 49 representative farms were collected and used for data analysis. Registrations from the growing season 2006/07 were used. Together with a questionnaire, the green pesticide accounts were sent to the farmers, in order to identify potential sources of errors in relation to the spraying journals. Furthermore, questions were asked to uncover the attitudes of the farmers towards a general publication of their pesticide use.

Based on the spraying journals, a number of potential sources of errors in the data registration process were revealed. These include bias in the reported dose, registration of treatments on a crop level instead of field level and missing information. Even though some of these errors are very evident, it is difficult to determine, whether the figures in fact holds some error, or they provide an actual picture of the pesticide use on the farm. It is however concluded, that the reported pesticide use on a large part of the farmsis somewhat lower than the actual use. Overall, the reported pesticide use in the growing season 2006/07 was approximately right in between the target figures and the average use on a national level.

Based on the green pesticide accounts, it is possible to point out farms with a pesticide use significantly higher than the target figures and national average use. A more thorough investigation of 6 of those farms, however, revealed, that it is not possible to conclude, that these farms have an unnecessary high use of pesticides.

Not surprisingly, the opinions concerning the green pesticide accounts are divided. Approximately 70 % of the farmers indicate that the pesticide account provides them with a good overview of their pesticide use. When asked directly, 37 % of the farmers indicate that they will consider spraying less, because of the pesticide accounts. 9 % indicate that they will consider spraying more, and 56 % indicate that it will not have any impact on their pesticide use. In relation to publication, the opinions are also divided. One group believes that it will be beneficial to the image of the agricultural business, and at the same time signal, that they do not have anything to hide. The other group especially emphasizes, that there is a potential risk of misuse of the information.

In the future, the key challenges for the green pesticide accounts are first and foremost related to the implementation process and its general accept by the farmers. The present study has shown, that there are no problems related to the technical implementation of the green pesticide accounts. It is, however, crucial that focus is placed on optimizing the value of the accounts, so that the farmers hereby gets the encouragement needed to pay satisfactorily attention on the green pesticide account. Accept of the system, and thus the green pesticide accounts, is crucial for the potential impact a tool like this may have on the total consumption of pesticides in the agricultural industry.