Publications de nos chercheuses et chercheurs

Pesticide restriction policies have considerable economic impacts on farms. As a result, producers will only be able to adapt to new ways of protecting crops and the new risks they entail if they are supported financially. This study explores the main legal levers, both public and private, that could support French agriculture in its quest to move away from pesticides. We show that the transition of the French agricultural model towards the withdrawal of pesticides requires the mobilisation of a panoply of financial instruments to secure the income of producers. It turns out that the State, through its resources, has margins for manoeuvre essentially within the framework of the common agricultural policy, but largely refrains from using them. Outside this regime, public subsidies to companies in the sector remains limited because it is considered to distort competition. The market must also play its role, even if it means publicly directing its course, by better remuneration for pesticide-free production, whether or not it is certified; this objective will only be attainable if agricultural imports are truly regulated on the basis of environmental criteria.