Our main objective is to analyze the effects of policy instruments that could provide agricultural producers economic incentives to the adoption of innovative cropping practices and thereby allow a reduction of pesticide use. To do so, we combine economic data, reflecting the intensive cropping practices currently used in France, and experimental agronomic data, on a low input technology, to estimate econometric models. These models are then used to conduct policy simulations. Our results show that without public incentives producers would not adopt the new technology. We also show that a tax on pesticides generates larger effects when these low input practices are available to farmers.