- Glyphosate is the most widely applied herbicide in agriculture and is often used in conjunction with crops that are genetically modified. Farmers’ dependency on glyphosate has grown steeply in recent years as it is easy to apply and relatively inexpensive. However, glyphosate is also increasingly controversial, with accumulating evidence that it can lead to a wide range of health and environmental impacts. Two countries have already banned glyphosate and others are considering to do the same. This Foresight Brief shows that there are alternative methods which can help to avoid the use of glyphosate as well as other harmful chemicals to kill weeds. The alternative methods offer the benefits of restoring soil fertility and increasing biodiversity in the environment.
- Herbicides were once seen as the final solution to weed control problems, but they have a limited lifespan because of herbicide resistance and concerns about human health and environmental issues. Glyphosateresistant crops ushered in a short period during which farmers abandoned complex weed control strategies in favour of simple, cheap and effective weed control. As multiple resistant weeds proliferate, farmers will be forced towards more complex integrated weed management programmes that are environment friendly. As a consequence, this would lead to developing a fundamentally different model of agriculture based on diversifying farms and landscapes to fulfil many of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) Sustainable management of soil health and sustainable agriculture is critical to advancing several SDGs, especially those related to alleviating poverty (#1), ending hunger (#2), improving health (#3), clean water (#6), economic growth (#8), and climate action (#13).
United Nations Environment Programme
