Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union

E2: Environmental statistics and accounts; sustainable development

e-mail contact : ESTAT-SDG-MONITORING@ec.europa.eu

The indicator is part of the EU Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator set. It is used to monitor progress towards SDG 2 on ending hunger and malnutrition; which is embedded in the European Commission’s Priorities under the 'European Green Deal'.

SDG 2 - among other things - aims to ensure access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. Sustainable and resilient food production systems are a key factor in achieving this goal. Along with the promotion of organic farming, integrated pest management (IPM) is one of the tools to emphasise the growth of healthy crop by encouraging natural pest control mechanisms and reducing or minimising risks to human health and the environment.

As a key component of the 'European Green Deal', the EU 'Farm to Fork Strategy' for sustainable food aims to reduce by 50% the use and risk of chemical pesticides and the use of more hazardous pesticides, by 2030.

The indicator monitors the trends in the use and risk of chemical pesticides in the EU and its Member States. The use of pesticides entails risks and impacts on human health and the environment. The indicator is based on the quantities of chemical active substances contained in the pesticides which are placed on the market (sold), and therefore used, in each Member State, and the hazard properties of these active substances. The data are presented as an index relative to the average results for the period 2015 to 2017.

Index 2015-2017 average = 100

Calendar year

The underlying statistics on pesticide sales are produced according to the high-level quality standards of European Statistics. 

DG SANTE

Data source: Calculation based on the quantities of chemical active substances that are approved as candidates for substitution in accordance with Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, contained in the plant protection products which are placed on the market in plant protection products each year reported under Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 and provided according to Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009.

Data provider: European Commission, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE)

Every year

The indicator is updated annually.

T+2 years

New data points are disseminated within 2 years after the reference year.

< 75% EU MS or no EU aggregate

The EU-27 aggregate refers to all EU Member States. Data at country level are presented for the following EU Member States: Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden.

< 75% EU MS

Comparability is limited to trend analysis as the indicator is expressed as index. Trends can be compared between EU Member States. 

> 10 years

Presented time series starts in 2011.

> 4 data points

Length of comparable time series without methodological breaks is longer than 4 data points.

Analysis of indicator is presented in Eurostat's annual monitoring report on Sustainable development in the EU (progress towards SDGs in an EU context).

See table sdg_02_53

Eurostat dedicated section on SDGs: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/sdi/overview

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