Illegal Pesticides | Early Pest Detection Matters More Than Ever

By Dimitra Fourkalidou | Head of Communications | reframe.food 
& Ilias Tsaparelis | Project Manager | reframe.food

The recent Reuters investigation on the surge in illegal pesticide use in Europe, and particularly in the Thessaly region of Greece, has shed renewed light on a troubling trend with serious implications for food safety, environmental health, and sustainable farming [1]. 

Farmers, facing rising costs of approved pesticides, are turning to illegal, uncertified products imported from neighboring non-EU countries such as the Republic of Türkiye, or smuggled through EU member states like Bulgaria. These unregulated chemicals are distributed in unlabelled plastic containers and have been found to contain substances long banned in the EU due to risks to both human health and ecosystems [1]. In Greece alone, at least 25% of pesticides in use in certain regions are estimated to be illegal, while EU-wide figures exceed 14%—a notable increase from 10% in 2015 [2]. This issue directly challenges the goals of the European Green Deal, particularly the Farm to Fork Strategy, which targets a 50% reduction in hazardous pesticide use by 2030 [3].

WHY THIS MATTERS

Prevention through smart pest surveillance

The STELLA Horizon Europe project was launched to promote preventive, data-driven, and sustainable approaches to plant protection. Rather than focusing on regulation enforcement, STELLA enhances the agricultural sector’s capacity to reduce dependency on chemical inputs by equipping stakeholders with advanced tools for early detection, forecasting, and smart pest management.

The STELLA Pest Surveillance System (PSS) employs a holistic digital framework that strengthens sustainable pest control. Its key features include:

• An early-warning system using forecasting models and IoT sensors to alert users before outbreaks expand
• Pest detection via drones, satellites, smart insect traps, and a smartphone scouting app
• AI-driven analytics offering data-based recommendations for containment and tailored phytosanitary responses
• An e-learning platform, providing multimodal educational content on the usage, benefits, and exploitation of the STELLA PSS, designed for agriculture and forestry actors, policy makers and regulators, industry and technology providers, research and academia, and civil society [5]

These novel monitoring solutions directly support the reduction of both the use and risk of chemical and hazardous pesticides, in line with the European Commission’s Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies.

In areas like Thessaly, where illegal pesticide use is rising due to both economic hardship and climate pressures, access to affordable, real-time pest monitoring and decision-support tools could reduce farmers’ perceived need to resort to high-risk, illegal chemicals [6].

STELLA’s pest prediction models, crowdsourcing app, and AI pest detection algorithms contribute to the reduction of pesticide use by optimising spraying schedules and dosages, offering a data-driven path to meet the EU’s 50% pesticide reduction target under the Green Deal.

SOURCES

[1] Reuters, Europe’s illegal pesticide trade surges as farmers cut costs, July 10, 2025.
[2] Europol, Environmental Crime in the Age of Climate Change – 2022 Threat Assessment.
[3] European Commission, Farm to Fork Strategy – Action Plan 2020.
[4] World Health Organization, Chemical Safety: Pesticides – Questions and Answers, 2022.
[5] STELLA Project, Pest Surveillance System (PSS), Overview.
[6] FYInews.gr, ΕΕ: Αύξηση των παράνομων φυτοφαρμάκων στο βωμό του κέρδους, July 11, 2025.