French government commits to pesticide reduction plan

Hearings with farmers and researchers to continue until publication of updated plan in April

An updated version of the controversial Ecophyto pesticide reduction plan will be published in April, the French government has confirmed.

The current Ecophyto plan, which was launched in 2015, was put on hold by prime minister Gabriel Attal at the start of February during nationwide protests by farmers. The plan had been due for a relaunch that would have run from April, but it was unclear whether it would return as the government sought to placate farmers who said that meeting its target of halving pesticide use by 2030 would ruin their businesses.