Input

In agriculture, inputs are all the products that are not naturally present in the soil and that are added in order to improve crop yield.

Inputs therefore have several functions:

• to improve soil quality (this is the case for fertilisers, growth activators, amendments, etc.);
• to eliminate pests, or invasive plants or undesirable plants (self-propagating) using phytosanitary products (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, etc.).

Limiting inputs used in farming is the entire issue behind rational agriculture and, even more so, organic agriculture.