A social and regulatory context that is changing
For several decades now, in response to society's high expectations in terms of respect for the environment, European and French national policy have been considerably strengthened to steer agriculture towards more environmentally friendly production methods. This was reflected in the "Grenelle de l'environnement" in 2007, which led to a number of objectives for agriculture: increasing the organic farming area in France, halving the use of synthetic plant protection products within 10 years (creation of the EcoPhyto 2018 plan) and certifying farms to the High Environmental Value (HEV) standard.
This requirement is also reflected in the regulatory framework, with European and French bans on active substances that are hazardous to humans and/or the environment, and stricter requirements for marketing authorisations (MA) for plant protection products (products that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) and toxic to the environment) (Figures 1 and 2).