Documentation of statistics Use of plant protection products in agriculture

Data description

The statistics contain data on the use of plant protection products on the following crops: winter wheat, spring wheat, rye, feed barley, malting barley, oats, winter rape and winter turnip rape, spring rape and spring turnip rape, food potatoes and food-industry potatoes, sugar beet, grassland for forage (excluding pasture), caraway, broad bean, peas for food, peas for feed, garden pea, white cabbage, carrot, onion, strawberry, currants (black, green, red and white) and apple.

Classification system

Crops, plant protection product groups.

The classifications and names of crops follow the practices of the crop production statistics and horticultural statistics. The following crops have been combined into one category:

• winter rape and winter turnip rape
• spring rape and spring turnip rape
• food potatoes and food-industry potatoes
• black, green, red and white currants

The classifications of plant protection products, product types, and active substances follow the categories used by the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes).

Sector coverage

The statistics cover the use of plant protection products in the cultivation of the most important crops in Finnish agricultural and horticultural production.

Statistical concepts and definitions

According to the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes), plant protection products are substances used for:

• Protecting plants and plant products against pests (insecticides and fungicides)
• Destroying harmful plants or parts of plants, or preventing harmful growth of plants (herbicides)
• Altering the vital functions of plants other than as nutrients (growth regulators)

Statistical unit

Agricultural and horticultural enterprise.

Statistical population

Enterprises in the register of agricultural and horticultural enterprises (economic size of at least €2,000).

Reference area

Finland

Time coverage

Statistical years: 2013, 2018, 2024, 2026, annually as of 2028

Unit of measure

Amount of use of plant protection products: kilogram (kg), kilograms per hectare (kg/ha)

Reference period

The statistics describe the use of plant protection products in the cultivation of crops harvested in the statistical year. The autumn before the statistical year is also included in the use of autumn-sown crops. Non-crop use of glyphosate preparations is reported for the statistical year.

Frequency of disseminations

The data are released during the year following the statistical year 

The statistics are compiled based on the Act on the Natural Resources Institute Finland (561/2014), the Act on Food and Natural Resource Statistics (562/2014), the Statistics Act (280/2004), and the Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union concerning crop statistics (2018/1091). As of 2026, the statistics are based on the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on statistics on agricultural inputs and outputs (EU 2022/2379).

More information: Statistics legislation

Confidentiality - policy

Confidentiality is a base principle of statistics and assures the confidential processing of data provided by informants, and the Natural Resources Institute Finland has undertaken to follow this principle. Micro-data is confidential and must never be released for administrative decision-making, investigation, surveillance, legal proceedings, or similar purposes.

Confidentiality - data treatment

The confidentiality of data collected for statistical purposes is guaranteed according to the Statistics Act (280/2004), the Personal Data Act (523/1999), the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679). Data is protected at all stages of processing using the necessary physical and technological solutions. The staff only has access to information necessary for their duties. Unauthorised people do not have access to spaces in which micro-data is processed. Staff members have signed a non-disclosure agreement when entering duty. Intentional breach of confidentiality will be penalised.

More information: Privacy policy – Statistics

The disseminations of the Natural Resources Institute Finland are published online on weekdays at 9:00.  Data is public after it has been published on the website.

Release calendar

The publication dates are confirmed in autumn together with the action plans. The release calendar of the following year is published for users in the end of the year. The release calendar holds data on the dates of future publications. The calendar also contains direct links to already published statistical publication.  

Release calendar access

Statistical releases calendar | Natural Resources Institute Finland

User satisfaction

Feedback is collected from the users of the statistics, especially when revising the statistics. Feedback is also received directly. In addition, we investigated the wishes of users for developing the statistics in the autumn of 2021 and beginning of 2022, when updating the work programme for the Natural Resources Institute Finland. We follow the received feedback and take it into consideration in developing the statistics.

Overall accuracy and reliability

Data on the use of plant protection products is collected from the agricultural and horticultural enterprises that are included in the data collections of crop production statistics and horticultural statistics. The factors affecting the accuracy and reliability of these surveys are described in their respective quality descriptions. Finding out and declaring the quantities of used plant protection products may be difficult for the respondents, which could decrease the accuracy of the statistics and increase non-response. On the other hand, the provisions of agricultural subsidies and the act on primary production (1368/2011) mandate farmers on keeping a record of used plant protection products, meaning that the needed data should be available to the respondents.

Timeliness

The statistics have been published according to the publishing date declared in advance.

Punctuality

The statistics have been published according to the publishing date declared in advance.

Comparability - over time

The comparability of data on the use of plant protection products and other data collected in the crop production and horticultural surveys is good.

Coherence - cross domain

Data by crop and plant protection product categories is comparable to other data classified similarly.

Source data

Data on the use of plant protection products is collected from the agricultural and horticultural enterprises that are included in the data collections of crop production statistics and horticultural statistics as part of these data collections or as a separate data collection. The names, active substances, and application ranges for various crops are obtained from the register of approved plant protection products, maintained by the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes). Data on application ranges of the plant protection products is also collected from guides on the use of plant protection products.  

Frequency of data collection

Statistical years: 2013, 2018, 2024, 2026, annually as of 2028

Data collection

Data on the use of plant protection products is collected from the agricultural and horticultural enterprises that are included in the data collections of crop production statistics and horticultural statistics as part of these data collections or as a separate data collection. The methodological description of these surveys is included in the quality descriptions of said statistics. Both crop statistics and horticultural statistics data collections and separate data collections use online surveys and telephone interviews. Data on the use of plant protection products is collected for plant protection products that, according to the register of approved plant protection products maintained by the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes), are approved for the crops in the statistics in the statistical year. Data on the use of plant protection products is collected in the crop production survey from all farms cultivating the plants included in the statistics. The crop production survey includes the following plants: winter wheat, spring wheat, rye, feed barley, malting barley, oats, rape and turnip rape (winter and spring forms separately since 2024), food potatoes and food-industry potatoes, sugar beet, grassland for forage (excluding pasture), caraway (since 2018), broad bean, peas for food (since 2024), peas for feed (since 2024). Data on the use of plant protection products is collected in the horticultural survey if the minimum cultivated area per farm is exceeded as follows:

• Cultivated area per farm ≥0,5 ha: peas (2013), cabbages, carrots, and food onions
• Cultivated area per farm ≥1 ha: peas (2018), strawberries, currants (black, green, red and white), apples

Multiple products of the same plant protection product group may have been used for the same plant on a farm. Plant protection products may also have been used only for a part of the cultivated area of the plant. In these cases, collected data per product does not tell if products of the same category have been applied to the same or separate parts of the cultivated area. The treated area of a plant protection product group was determined based on the largest area of an individual used plant protection product.

In processing results of 2013 and 2024, the volumes and areas of used plant protection products were converted to correspond to the total cultivated area of cultivated crops, assuming that the portion of cultivated area on farms using plant protection products on the crop in question compared to the total cultivated area in conventional farming is:

- winter wheat, spring wheat, rye, malting barley, other barley, oats, rape and turnip rape, peas: 90%

- food potatoes and food-industry potatoes: 100% on farms with a cultivated area of over 0.5 ha

- sugar beets: 100%

- grasslands for feed cultivation (not pasture): 20%

- cabbages, carrots, food onions, and strawberries: 95%

- black, green, red and white currants: 60%

- apples: 80%

Data validation

The data obtained in the data collection are used to calculate the application rates of plant protection products per hectare, which are compared to the range of application rate specified in the instructions for use of the product. The application rates outside the area will be corrected.

Data compilation

The data collected is used to calculate for each crop the total volumes of used plant protection products by the target of the use. The corresponding use rates of the active substances are calculated on the basis of the active substance concentrations of the procucts. The use amounts are related at the national level to the crop area, the area treated with plant protection products and the total crop yield. For glyphosate preparations, the application rates are also calculated for agricultural uses other than those in connection with crops.