724 tillage farmers asked to detail their pesticide use for AFBI

AFBI has posted pesticide usage survey forms to 724 arable growers across Northern Ireland, and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute wants every one of them back, completed.

The ask is straightforward but detailed. Farmers must list the agrochemicals they used across 2025 and 2026 and, crucially, the actual rates of application. That covers the full armoury: herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, desiccants, growth promoters and slug control chemistries.

AFBI says the survey exists to give Northern Ireland's farmers a voice, reflecting their pesticide needs and supporting further research. The results will land on the desk of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), where they will inform pesticides policy. The stated aim is keeping arable crops viable in Northern Ireland and protecting local food security.

The data has a second, more political job. It will track Northern Ireland's progress against the objectives of the UK Pesticides National Action Plan 2025.

What about confidentiality?

A fair question, given the sensitivity of spraying records. AFBI promises that any details given will be strictly confidential. The institute may phone farmers to gather further information, but no information on individual growers or their pesticide use will be shared with DAERA.

So DAERA gets the picture. It doesn't get the names.

Why bother filling it in?

Dr Archie Murchie, head of AFBI's Plant Health and Integrated Pest Management branch, made the case in direct terms.

"The results of the survey will provide baseline data on pesticide usage," he said. "Accurate data is essential to properly manage active ingredients."

His sharpest point concerns Northern Ireland's awkward regulatory position. "It is vitally important that local growers' voices are heard, given that Northern Ireland farmers have to adhere to both UK and EU regulations around pesticides," he said.

Two rulebooks, one sprayer. Few growers elsewhere in Europe carry that particular burden.

Murchie also argued that Northern Ireland's climate sets it apart chemically. "For example, we have higher fungicide and desiccant needs than much of Europe," he said.

Wetter fields mean more disease pressure. The chemistry bill follows.

"I'd ask as many farmers as possible to complete the survey so we can better reflect Northern Ireland's specific pesticide needs," he added.

The backdrop nobody can ignore

This survey arrives against a tightening squeeze on tillage farmers, who face growing pressure to adopt integrated pest management strategies in their crops.

At the same time, the range of crop chemistries commercially available keeps shrinking. Two forces drive that: the sheer cost of developing new agrochemicals, and regulators in both the EU and UK setting ever higher accreditation standards for new crop management strategies.

Nowhere is this more visible than in potatoes. Blight control chemistries remain under severe pressure, and the trend looks set to gather momentum rather than ease.

That makes baseline usage data more than a bureaucratic exercise. If approvals keep tightening, the survey results become the evidence base that shows which actives Northern Ireland growers actually depend on, and at what rates.

For growers holding one of those 724 letters, the practical answer is simple: fill it in accurately. The next round of pesticide policy decisions, and possibly the availability of key chemistries, will rest on what the sector reports.