Biopesticides vs conventional synthetic pesticides: A multidimensional evaluation of impacts on agricultural productivity and environmental health

Modern agriculture relies on conventional synthetic pesticides (CP) that negatively impact our environment. Derived from natural materials, biopesticides (BP) have been proposed as eco-friendly alternatives. However, there has not been a critical analysis comparing CP and BP across multiple metrics. This work systematically and quantitatively compares the agricultural productivity (efficacy, yield, and revenue) of CP and BP as well as their impacts on environmental health (non-target organisms, soil fertility, and greenhouse gas emissions) relative to untreated controls. On average, CP agronomic performance is superior (48% for BP vs 56% for CP of efficacy; 17% for BP vs 19% for CP of yield improvement), but the gap is relatively small. More than 30% of existing studies report higher efficacy and yield improvements for BP compared to CP. In addition, BP are associated with environmental benefits, including reduced non-target animal mortality (24% for BP vs 56% for CP). This work recognizes the diversity of BP and identifies key research gaps that currently hinder the broader development and adoption of alternatives to CP that could support more sustainable agricultural production.