Sustainable crop protection and the role of digital agriculture

We investigate the potential of digital innovations to support the transformation of sustainable crop protection and reduce the risks associated with pesticide use. Digital technologies can contribute to enhancing the efficiency of pesticide use, completely substituting pesticides, and redesigning agricultural systems to reduce pest pressure and, consequently, the need for pesticides. We have identified three groups of digital innovations with high potential to support the transition towards sustainable crop protection. The first group includes technologies such as controlled traffic farming and variable rate application, which modestly reduce pesticide use per hectare and are broadly scalable. The second group includes technologies such as controlled environment farming and autonomous weeding robots, which promise significant reductions per hectare. However, economic, regulatory and other hurdles limit their widespread implementation. Third are innovations such as digital twins and landscape redesign approaches, which can be widely scaled and could contribute to significant reductions in pesticide use by fundamentally transforming agricultural production. The transition to digital agriculture poses various challenges and risks, including economic, social, ethical, and environmental ones. Therefore, digital innovations should not be viewed as a panacea for sustainable crop protection. A tailored combination of digital innovations and production systems is necessary to mitigate the risks of pesticide use while maintaining food production and economic viability. Furthermore, coherent policies, targeted investments, and inclusive approaches are essential to realizing the full potential of digital innovations for sustainable crop protection. • A transition to more sustainable crop protection is required. • We investigate the potential of digital innovations to support this transformation. • Digital innovations can contribute make pesticide use more efficient or replace it. • They can also facilitate redesigning of agricultural systems reducing pest pressure. • However, digital innovations should not be viewed as the sole solution or a panacea.