Low-risk pesticides in the EU: economic and regulatory considerations for agriculture and forestry

Low-risk pesticides (LRPs), characterized as mainly active substances (AS) with biological origins, are gaining ground in the global pesticide market as potential substitutes for synthetic pesticides. Within the EU context, LRPs have been considered a prime alternative to synthetic pesticides. However, the current approval process for AS of natural origin and their respective plant protection products (PPPs) follows the same regulatory procedures as for synthetic pesticides, resulting in overly extended approval timespans. The EU has identified the need to reduce the procedural timespans for approval of low-risk AS and their PPP counterparts. This study aims to provide an overview of the current approval process for different categories of LRPs within the EU, highlighting the opportunities for improving the efficiency of the approval process for AS and PPPs based on natural origins within the EU, and discuss the potential impacts of establishing a dedicated approval process for LRPs.