ETH News

We can transition to pesticide-free agriculture without converting to organic farming. Robert Finger outlines the advantages and challenges involved.

Agriculture practices that preserve resources? Enough food to make sure that everyone can enjoy a healthy and balanced diet? We still are a long way from that, finds Robert Finger – and outlines the most important fields of action to make the food system more sustainable.

Extreme weather poses increasing challenges to the agricultural sector. New insurance models based on satellite data may reduce the risk of drought for farmers, writes Robert Finger.

Bans and simple measures alone won’t solve the problems in plant protection. Robert Finger presses for a comprehensive pesticide policy.

In order to reduce the risks of pesticide use, they must be measured – which is often done by quantity-based indicators. Yet these often fail to identify risks, writes Robert Finger.

We must reduce the environmental and health risks of pesticides. However, rather than banning them completely, Robert Finger advocates an intelligent approach to crop protection.