Agrochemicals, Environment, and Human Health

Abstract

Global consumption of agrochemicals continues to rise, despite growing evidence of their adverse effects on environmental quality and human health. The extent of increase varies across nations, by type of chemical compounds and by severity of the detrimental impacts. The differential impacts are largely attributable to the level of technology adoption and regulation as well as their enforcement and compliance. The article highlights gaps in technical, legal, and social aspects, which include the paucity of holistic and long-term ecological impact assessment frameworks and lack of consideration for the social dimensions of pesticide use in regulatory decisions. Bridging these gaps, establishing global cooperation for regulation and governance, and a regional/national-level monitoring mechanism are suggested. This, complemented with a policy shift from the current approach of productivity enhancement to augmenting agroecosystem services, would encourage sustainable and nature-positive agriculture equipped to meet the multiple challenges of food security, ecological safety, and climate resilience. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Volume 47 is October 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Climate change and managing insect pests and beneficials in agricultural systems

“…Pests and beneficials : Long‐term reliance on insecticides for pest control has well‐recognized negative effects on non‐target organisms, including natural enemies of pests that can cause secondary pest outbreaks, increase production costs, impose human and environmental health hazards, and increase pesticide resistance in target pests (Devi et al., 2022; McLaughlin & Mineau, 1995; Pimentel & Andow, 1984; Pimentel et al., 1992). Reducing pesticide use to address these vulnerabilities has been a motivating paradigm for decades of research and application (Jacquet et al., 2022; Lechenet et al., 2017; Pimentel, 1997).…”

“…Reduced agrochemical use. While agrochemicals (e.g., synthetic pesticides, fertilizers) in industrialized crop production have greatly improved yields, they are also drivers of declines in biodiversity, soil erosion, pesticide resistance, greenhouse gas emissions, and eutrophication (Devi et al, 2022). These effects can be further intensified due to climate change (Ma et al, 2021).…”

Insect Resistance to Insecticides and Approaches to Its Identification

“…Historically, the use of chemicals has been practiced as the primary method of insect pests and ectoparasites control [1,2], and by far, the use of pesticides remains the most common way to control their population [3][4][5]. The use of pesticides in agriculture has increased over the past few decades with the continuous growth of global food production [6,7]. Food and Agricultural Organization data show that in 2019 the consumption of pesticides reached 4.2 million tons, with insecticides being the third most used (17%) after herbicides (53%), fungicides, and bactericides (23%) [7].…”

“…The use of pesticides in agriculture has increased over the past few decades with the continuous growth of global food production [6,7]. Food and Agricultural Organization data show that in 2019 the consumption of pesticides reached 4.2 million tons, with insecticides being the third most used (17%) after herbicides (53%), fungicides, and bactericides (23%) [7]. According to BusinesStat estimates, pesticide production in Russia has increased by 1.7 times between 2017 and 2021: from 86.8 thousand tons to 148.9 thousand tons, while the share of insecticides by 2021 amounted to 12.5% [8].…”

“…The use of insecticides in agriculture is essential to enhance crop yields [2,7]. However, the intensive use of insecticides, the long-term use of the same agents, the increase in the applied doses and frequency of treatments, and the rapid life cycle of pests result in a high potential for pesticide resistance selection in insects and mites [9].…”