A review on the current scientific literature showed that pesticides are widely present in soils, water and air and have a potential to contaminate organic produce. These contamination pathways must be considered when findings of pesticide residues are investigated.
Agroscope has developed risk indicators which show the development of risks associated with the use of plant protection products for important environmental compartments, describe the risk potential of the active substances and take account of legal measures for risk mitigation.
Do farmers who produce in environmentally friendly ways earn less income? As an Agroscope study shows, this needs not be the case, and farmers can actually generate more revenue by protecting the environment.