Pesticide sales jump by 17% in Switzerland

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Wet weather was responsible for the sale of 2,259 tonnes of plant protection products in Switzerland in 2021. 

The Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) said on Monday that farmers had increased the number of treatments to save certain crops. An additional 329 tonnes of crop protection products were applied by farmers which is 17% more than in 2020. The increase was blamed on heavy rainfall, which favoured the proliferation of diseases, for example in viticulture or arboriculture.

The adverse weather conditions especially affected organic farming. The use of plant protection products authorised in organic farming totalled 1,233 tonnes, an increase of 36% compared to 2020. The quantity of plant protection products used in organic farming now exceeds that used in conventional farming (1,025 tonnes). 

According to the FOAG, this development can be explained by a change in practice. Many farmers have turned to products used in organic farming, which led to the increase in sales. For example, the sale of fungicides like sulphur, copper and potassium bicarbonate together increased by 170 tonnes. All three products are permitted in organic farming. There was also an increase in sales of paraffin oil (154 tonnes), an insecticide allowed in organic farming that was used as a substitute for the insecticide chlorpyrifos, whose use was banned in 2020.