Experimental and empirical evidence shows that reducing weed control in winter cereal fields is a viable strategy for farmers
Résumé
Modern agriculture needs a paradigm shift to make the world’s food production sustainable while
mitigating social and environmental externalities. Although various policies to limit the use of
agrochemicals have recently been implemented in the european Union, the use of both herbicides and
fertilizers has remained fairly constant. Farmers are assumed to behave optimally, producing the
best they can, given the agronomic constraints of their fields. Based on this assumption, reducing
agrochemicals should inevitably have negative effects on food production, or reduce farmers’
incomes. Coupling empirical analysis based on field surveys and experimental trials where weed
management and nitrogen input were manipulated in the same production fields and under real farming
conditions, we demonstrate that high use of N fertiliser or intense weed control slightly increase
yields, but that this increase is not enough to offset the additional costs incurred by their use.
Our experimental design allowed inputs to be varied in a two-factor design, along a gradient
spanning from organic to highly intensive farming, while holding all other conditions constant and
thus avoiding confounding effects. Quantification of crop yields and gross margins from winter
cereal farming showed that reducing dependence on weed management may not hamper cereal production
in this system, and is economically profitable at the field level on the short term. our study thus
contributes to addressing a key gap in our economic knowledge, and gives hope for implementing
win-win strategies for farmers and the environment.
Domaines
Sciences de l'environnement
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