Tillage farmers across Northern Ireland are being urged to take part in an important pesticide usage survey.

The survey will be conducted by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

To date, 724 letters have been sent to arable growers, with an accompanying survey form.

Completion of the survey requires farmers to list the various agrochemicals they have used over the 2025/2026 years and the actual rates of application used.

Product categories include all herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, desiccants and growth promoters and slug control chemistries.

According to AFBI, the survey aims to give a voice to Northern Ireland’s farmers, reflecting their pesticide needs and support further research.

The results will be used to inform the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs' (DAERA's) pesticides policy, ensuring arable crops can continue to be grown successfully in Northern Ireland and our local food security is protected.

The results will also be used to track Northern Ireland's progress against the objectives of the UK Pesticides National Action Plan 2025.

Any details given will be strictly confidential. AFBI may ring farmers to gather further information, however, no information on individual growers or their use of pesticides will be shared with DAERA.

AFBI

Dr. Archie Murchie, head of AFBI's Plant Health and Integrated Pest Management branch, said: "The results of the survey will provide baseline data on pesticide usage.

"Accurate data is essential to properly manage active ingredients.

Dr. Murchie explained that the climate of Northern Ireland means it has different pesticide needs to many countries in the EU.

"For example, we have higher fungicide and desiccant needs than much of Europe.

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

The backdrop to the AFBI survey is a growing pressure for tillage farmers to adopt integrated pest management strategies when it comes to managing their crops.

In tandem with this, the range of crop chemistries commercially available continues to shrink.

This reflects the cost involved in the development of new agrochemicals and the fact that authorities throughout the EU and the UK are setting ever higher accreditation standards for new crop management strategies.

This is most evident within the potato sector where the availability of blight control chemistries continues to come under severe pressure - a trend that looks set to gain further momentum into the future.