3.1. Agronomic - Crop Areas
Over 70 per cent of the land area is used for agriculture in England and Wales. Different types of farming systems can have different impacts on the environment. The drive for higher agricultural output during, and after the Second World War has given way to the view that increasingly farmers must be seen as guardians of the countryside as well as food producers. Cropping patterns tend to change only over long periods but are affected by market prices for commodities and subsidies that may be available.
Figure 3.1.1. Cropping in England and Wales 1970-1999 (Source Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF)) (Adobe Acrobat 14kb)
Pesticide use in any one year is related to the area of individual crops grown and the husbandry of them. In the UK, winter wheat is the dominant crop (about 1.8m hectare (ha) out of 4.7m ha total cropped area, excluding grass) and can give a good indication of trends in pesticide usage. Even this alone does not give a reliable indication, since the impacts of husbandry can influence demand for pesticide use. In particular drilling date will have a major impact on weed, pest and disease pressures. Weather conditions and time pressures determine drilling date. With increasing pressures on farming increasing the area operated is essential and this inevitably increases the amount of crop drilled early. In years of more extreme autumn weather the amount of spring cropping is increased, and this is normally associated with lower pesticide inputs.
Agronomic - Crop Areas : Recommendations R 3.1.1. and R 3.1.2. | Recommendations: | Priority for action |
| R 3.1.1. | Pesticide use information (area sprayed, active substance applied, average dose rates) should be viewed in the context of the need for pesticides. In particular use information must be accompanied by measures of: - Crop areas;
- Drilling dates;
- Weed, pest and disease risk;
- Timing of pesticide applications.
| High |
| R 3.1.2. | It should be examined whether data already collected for other purposes could be refined to allow information on need to be determined. | High |
Crop area statistics are readily available, via June census. However, information on need is much less well defined. Although there are surveys in England and Wales of pest and disease incidence, these are very limited and currently only provide restricted information on treated crops of:
- Winter wheat - disease (circa (c).300 samples), some pest monitoring;
- Winter barley - disease (c.300 samples);
- Winter oilseed rape - pest and disease (c.100 samples);
- Linseed (winter and spring) - disease (c.30 samples);
- Potatoes - disease (c.80 samples).
There is no similar information on weed populations. It would also be very important to relate pesticide timings to need.
Agronomic - Crop Areas : Recommendation R 3.1.3. | Recommendation: | Priority for action |
| R 3.1.3. | Consideration should be given as to whether detailed collection on a restricted number of sites, as opposed to wide scale random surveys could be of benefit. Such sites could also be used to monitor requirement and form the basis of a 'warning' scheme to farmers nationally, to allow more accurate targeting of pesticides to need. | High |
Opportunity for targets
If need were measured then a good target could be developed for measuring Pesticides Forum activities on responsible use.
3.2. Economic
Economic issues determine the selection of crops and approaches in agriculture. The economic situation is an essential background to understanding reasons for decisions. Although an essential background, this is not considered a suitable indicator for pesticide use.
3.3. Societal
Political objectives have long determined the direction of agricultural development. From the drive for food production since the 1940s to the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) under Agenda 2000, agriculture has responded to the political climate. Again understanding political objectives is critical to understanding a range of indicators, but no indicator of political objectives is suggested.
Farming has had some positive impacts and we now have plentiful good quality food at affordable prices. It is important that the societal benefits of crop protection within farming are recognised. It is therefore recommended that the Pesticides Forum consider the development of three food production indicators which balance the environmental impacts of crop protection with benefits of crop production. It may be worth considering, under food quality, whether a measure of consumer confidence could be developed. However, previous studies suggest this might be difficult since current issues and media pressure largely influence the findings at the time of the survey. It is also important that it separates pesticide impacts from general food safety factors.
Societal : Recommendations R 3.3.1, R 3.3.2 and R 3.3.3 | Recommendations: | Priority for action |
| R 3.3.1. | An indicator of food quantity needs to be developed to record the proportion of staple foods (e.g. wheat, potatoes, apples, carrots) which are produced in the UK. It is recommended that Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) should consider what data that it already collects could be used to generate this indicator and that it is then published. | High |
| R 3.3.2. | An indicator of food affordability needs to be developed to record the relative cost of UK staple foods at the farm gate. It is recommended that MAFF should consider what data that it already collects could be used to generate this indicator and that it is then published. | High |
| R 3.3.3. | An indicator of food quality needs to be developed to measure the levels achieved in terms of keeping quality, visible appearance and the reduction in natural toxins produced either by fungal infection or by the plants own mechanisms. Measurements of food quality factors will be complex but the Pesticides Forum recommends that a feasibility study into the potential to develop such an indicator in made. | High |
3.4. Technology
Agriculture evolves as new technology advances. Typically advances in plant breeding, crop protection, electronics and engineering lead to developments. Adopting new technology is essential to a developing agriculture. It is not possible or appropriate to have separate indicators of new technology uptake. Rather they are included as and where relevant in specific places in this report, where their uptake may address specific issues.
