Economic viability of reduced agricultural inputs in farmer-co-designed large-scale experimental trials in western France

Reducing agricultural inputs is necessary for sustainable farming, but raises concerns over yields and farmers’ income. Here, we used large-scale experimental trials on cereal fields in western France for the period 2022–2023 to assess the effects of input reductions on yields and gross margins under real farming conditions. The trials, co-designed with farmers, involved substantial nitrogen and pesticide reductions in conventional fields, and reductions in soil work or mechanical weeding in organic fields. The results showed that input reductions led to average yield gaps of about 5% in both conventional and organic systems. Cost savings compensated for economic losses and even surpassed these in many conventional field experiments. Simulated price scenarios confirmed the economic viability of input reductions, with heightened advantages during price crises driven by energy or inflation shocks. These findings demonstrate that input-reduction strategies can align environmental and economic goals in real farming conditions, challenging concerns about profitability while supporting the ambitious sustainability targets of policies. In western France, nitrogen and pesticide input reductions led to cereal crop yield gaps in conventional and organic farm systems and economic losses were compensated by cost savings, according to an analysis that combines co-designed farm experiments and a statistical approach.