Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers to adopt (a) integrated pest management and (b) other alternative pest management approaches.

The forthcoming UK National Action Plan on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (NAP) will set out Defra’s ambition to minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment. Within the NAP we will set out our policies to increase the uptake of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) across all sectors.

We have not waited for the publication of the NAP to move forward with work to support sustainable pest management. We introduced new paid IPM actions within the SFI scheme in 2023. Farmers are now paid to complete an IPM assessment and produce an IPM plan; establish and maintain flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips; establish a companion crop and move towards insecticide-free farming. Paid actions for precision application of herbicides will be available from this year.

Defra has recently funded a package of research projects that will bring together scientific evidence underpinning IPM to look at ways of further encouraging its uptake. This work will support farmers’ access to the most effective IPM tools available and ensure that we understand changing trends in pest threats across the UK.