Trends in herbicide resistance in Southeast Asia

The turn of the millennium has led to a rise in the domestic demand for more varied agricultural products and an increase in their export. To address these challenges, agricultural practices have shifted towards more intensive crop production. This shift has forced farmers to embrace more stringent agronomic practices, such as increasing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to increase and stabilize agricultural yields and boost production efficiency. For example, rice production in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand relies heavily on agrochemical inputs to achieve self-sufficiency and support exports (Atieno et al., 2020; Fritz et al., 2021). In Southeast Asia (SEA), approximately 556 413 tonnes of pesticides are used, with insecticides making up 49.6%, herbicides 25.6%, fungicides and bactericides 20.1%, and other types 4.7% (FAOSTAT, 2024a). In 2022, Indonesia emerged as the largest consumer of pesticides among Southeast Asian countries, using 294 670 tonnes. While herbicide use in SEA is lower compared to industrialized countries, there is a steady demand across the region driven by intensified land use, expansion of high-value crop production, and greater market integration of farmers.