10% reduction pesticide usage stipulated in the National Action Plan

Following on from the January 2025 announcement, banning the emergency use of the neonicotinoid Cruiser SB, the Government has launched the Pesticide National Action Plan (NAP).

The NAP sets out how all four UK governments intend to support farmers, growers and other land managers to increase their use of nature-based techniques, to reduce the potential harm from pesticides.

The plan aims to: (1) Encourage the adoption of integrated pest management and alternative approaches to conventional pesticides; (2) Set clear targets and measures to monitor pesticides use in the UK, and ; (3) Support the safe pesticide use to ensure better environmental outcomes.

The NAP introduces a domestic reduction target for pesticides in the UK of at least 10%, over the next five years. The actions in the plan set out how this will be achieved, which includes the uptake of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) solutions and the development of lower risk bio-pesticides.

The 10% target reduction is based on the UK Pesticide Load Indicator (PLI), which combines data on pesticide usage with information on pesticide properties (hazard and environmental behaviour) to illustrate and track trends in the potential pressure that pesticides are placing on the environment. The PLI consists of 20 metrics that cover the potential harm pesticides pose to different indicator species (for example, how toxic they are to bees) and their behaviour in the environment (for example, how long they persist). The NAP sets a target of reducing each of the 20 metrics of the PLI by at least 10% by 2030, using 2018 as a baseline year.

The aim of the new target is to drive sustainability change, which will require action by all parties involved, that is: the government, manufacturers, and farmers and growers. The government added that they intend to explore reducing the use of pesticides further across all sectors, which will mean regular progress reviews and collaboration with pesticide users and consumers.

The new domestic target will also contribute to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework – Target 7 which was agreed at COP15, to reduce the overall risks from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half by 2030.