Farmers are constantly walking a tightrope. They must protect crops from weeds, insects and disease, while also meeting rising expectations around environmental care, food quality and sustainability. Increasingly, that balance is becoming harder to maintain.

Across the world, and especially in highly productive farming systems, pests are adapting. Resistance to existing control tools is increasing, while the range of available options is narrowing.

The result is a confronting reality: crop protection is becoming more complex at the very moment our food systems need to be more resilient.

The growing challenge of resistance

Pesticide resistance is not new. For decades, farmers and agronomists have managed it through careful stewardship by rotating products, using different modes of action and closely monitoring pest populations. These practices remain essential.

What has changed is the context. Fewer modes of action are available, and new ones are harder, slower and more expensive to develop. At the same time, climate variability and global trade are accelerating pest pressure and spread. That leaves less margin for error. When resistance develops, the impacts can be immediate and costly.

Resistance is not a failure of modern farming. Pests evolve, just like crops and humans — it’s biology in action. The challenge is staying ahead of that evolution.

Integrated pest management: more than a buzzword

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) brings together chemical, biological, cultural, biotechnology and genetic tools to manage pests in a coordinated, evidence‑based way. It prioritises prevention, monitoring and targeted intervention, rather than reliance on any single solution.

In principle, IPM is widely supported. In practice, it depends on choice.

IPM only works when farmers have access to a diverse toolbox that includes effective crop protection products, resistant crop varieties, biological options and sound agronomic advice.

Why this conversation matters now

The biggest risk facing New Zealand agriculture isn’t change, it’s standing still.

Globally, farming systems are evolving rapidly, with new technologies reshaping how pests and diseases are managed. Without a long‑term, integrated approach to IPM, there is a real risk New Zealand farmers will be left with fewer options and miss out on future innovation for protecting harvests.

The decisions made today shape what farmers can access tomorrow. Embracing a science‑based, long‑term approach to IPM – and allowing farmers access to more tools – helps ensure New Zealand agriculture remains productive, resilient and open to the next generation of crop protection solutions.

Want to learn more about pest resistance, IPM and the need for innovation?

A peer‑reviewed article in Pest Management Science explores how growing resistance, regulatory pressure and reduced availability of modes of action are reshaping pest control in Europe and globally, and why IPM depends on maintaining a diverse, effective toolbox.

For transparency, that article’s authors include scientists from Bayer as well as researchers from academic and industry organisations, which are clearly named up front.