Negotiators from the European Parliament and the 27 Agriculture Ministers have reached a compromise on mandatory identical administration and monitoring of pesticide use on all European farms. This is intended to replace the many different calculations and measurement methods currently used in EU countries.
The new administration is necessary to enable European oversight of biodiversity, farm-to-fork strategies, and the transition to organic farming. The negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council not only agreed on keeping records of the used (chemical) substances and fertilizers, but also of the harvest and yield.
The trilogue negotiations under the French presidency between MEPs and the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on this aspect of the new agricultural policy were difficult due to the sensitive issue of European oversight of pesticide use. Several EU countries were reluctant to collect this data annually, fearing excessive administrative burdens.
“The provisional agreement brings us closer to a more sustainable food system in the EU,” said the European Parliament delegation leader, the left-wing Greek MEP Petros Kokkalis.
“This agreement ensures that data on pesticides in agriculture entering the food market, per crop and per treated area, will be recorded and published starting in 2026.”
The MEP added that the number of statistics collected from organic farmers will be increased, “so that the development of organic production in the EU can be better monitored.”