Declining availability of crop protection tools, the impact of climate change, and regulatory pressure from the European Union are the biggest challenges facing the crop protection industry, according to a report by the Polish Crop Protection Association (PSOR). Producers have been investing in technologies and innovative solutions for years and say they are ready to continue doing so, but they are also calling for support from EU institutions and regulations. One of the relevant initiatives is the Omnibus package, a set of simplification measures proposed by the European Commission last year.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), global food production will need to increase by 50 percent by 2050. This is necessary to meet the needs of a population expected to reach nearly 10 billion people. It is estimated that 80 percent of the additional food demand will have to be met by plant-based products. However, producers and farmers are facing a number of serious challenges.
“The key challenge remains regulatory pressure. We need regulations that genuinely support food production and access to innovation. At the same time, the availability of tools for farmers is declining: both conventional and biological substances are being withdrawn from the market without adequate alternatives emerging. The problem is further aggravated by the growing resistance of diseases and pests. In addition, the sector is facing expectations from increasingly aware consumers who are looking for food produced in a sustainable way,” Małgorzata Bojańczyk, Director General of the Polish Crop Protection Association, said in an interview with Newseria.
According to the PSOR report Climate, Environment, Business. Actions of Crop Protection Product Manufacturers for Sustainable Development, diseases and pests are responsible for losses of as much as 40 percent of global crop yields every year. In the case of many cultivated plants, obtaining a marketable yield without proper protection against weeds, pests, or diseases is impossible. The authors of the report cite European Commission data showing that, as a result of EU regulations, the years 2004–2010 saw the largest decline in the number of active substances used in crop protection products in the EU, from around 1,000 to 480, and in Poland to around 330. During the same period, the number in the United States increased from around 1,000 in the early 2000s to more than 1,300. At the same time, the latest data show that since 2019, approval for 84 chemical substances in the European Union has been withdrawn, not renewed, or allowed to expire, while no new ones have been registered. In the case of biological substances, 20 were approved while 25 were withdrawn.
“Crop protection products have been consistently withdrawn for years, and no new ones are being approved. Biological products are also being withdrawn. The availability of both conventional and biological substances is declining. As a result, farmers simply do not have the tools they need to produce food,” Małgorzata Bojańczyk emphasizes. “The Omnibus package is supposed to address this issue, among others, and help improve access to innovation. Its goal is also to support the competitiveness of European agriculture.”
On 16 December 2025, the European Commission proposed the Food and Feed Safety Omnibus package. The new regulations, linked to the “Vision for Agriculture and Food” announced in February 2025, are intended to reduce administrative burdens and speed up access to innovation while maintaining the highest standards of food and feed safety and environmental protection.
“The Omnibus is about accelerating access to innovation, including biological solutions and precision agriculture tools such as drones. It is definitely meant to help farmers, because they are currently facing many challenges,” explains the PSOR Director General.
The Commission estimates that the proposed simplifications could generate more than €1 billion in savings in administrative and compliance costs. In addition, farmers are expected to gain a wider choice of production inputs, especially innovative products.
“EU policy should support both the industry and farmers themselves. In our latest report, Climate, Environment, Business, we point out that in order to implement innovation and speed up farmers’ access to modern solutions, transparent regulations are needed—regulations that support farmers and do not create additional barriers,” says Małgorzata Bojańczyk.
The authors of the report argue that the pace, structure, and scale of EU regulations must be adapted to the real capabilities of the industry. They stress that further withdrawal of active substances without providing alternatives could reduce agricultural productivity, increase production costs, and raise the risk of crop losses.
“It is crucial that any new regulations respect the principle of ‘no bans without alternatives.’ If more tools are withdrawn from farmers, we must make sure alternatives are delivered to them. Farmers need to protect their yields, which is why it is so important to provide them with a full range of tools that allow them to maintain profitability. Without that, there is no room for innovation and therefore no room for investment,” the expert adds.
PSOR experts stress that the elements of innovative and modern crop protection include conventional products, usually those whose active substances are chemical compounds of natural origin, such as sulfur or copper, or synthetic origin. These are complemented by biological products, which contain, among other things, living organisms or preparations based on them. Other key innovations include digital and precision technologies, such as remote crop monitoring, as well as the use of biological progress, including new plant varieties.
“Biological products are a very good complement to conventional methods. However, looking at today’s technology, we still cannot say that they can replace them. Crop protection products are one of the key tools for securing yields. What is equally important is how they are used. That is why integrated pest management is the foundation of sustainable agriculture—an approach that combines different methods and makes it possible to produce food that is safe for people and the environment while preserving the high biological value of crops. This is not a compromise—it is the standard,” Małgorzata Bojańczyk underlines.
The report indicates that innovation is now an important element of the crop protection production industry. This is a process that is already underway. Since 2020, significant and measurable investments have been made, and producers declare their readiness to continue.
“The transformation of European agriculture influenced the crop protection market a long time ago. I would even say that we moved ahead of it. The industry has been investing in sustainable solutions for years. It has committed €10 billion to the development of precision tools. In addition, €4 billion has been allocated to biotechnology-related solutions, namely biological crop protection products. The industry has also pledged to train 1 million farmers. It is taking action in the area of training because it understands its responsibility and recognizes that compliance with the law is very important,” says the Director General of the Polish Crop Protection Association.
In addition, the industry has committed, among other things, to increasing the overall European collection rate for crop protection packaging to 75 percent.
In Poland, this is handled by the PSOR System, which has been operating for 22 years and, as Małgorzata Bojańczyk stresses, achieves some of the best results in Europe. According to the report Climate, Environment, Business, in 2024 the nationwide system collected a total of more than 34,000 tonnes of packaging. This represented 88 percent of the total weight of all packaging placed on the market. In 2023, the figure stood at 68 percent, and in 2022 it was 73 percent.
The report Climate, Environment, Business. Actions of Crop Protection Product Manufacturers for Sustainable Development is the third edition of a publication prepared by the Polish Crop Protection Association. The document provides a comprehensive diagnosis of the current situation in the crop protection sector and the industry’s strategic response to the challenges of agricultural transformation. Among other things, the publication includes the results of opinion surveys conducted among farmers in October 2025 and data on the implementation of the industry’s commitments through 2030.
