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CONTEXT The use of pesticides implies negative effects on human health and the environment. Thus, the reduction in pesticide risks without harming food security and farmers' income is a key policy goal. OBJECTIVE The aim is to investigate the implications of policies that explicitly foster the large-scale adoption of pesticide-free, non-organic production systems at the national scale using Swiss crop production as an illustrative example. METHODS We develop a bio-economic modelling approach that combines agent-based modelling, a Delphi study to assess yield implications and a detailed representation of labour and machinery implications of pesticide-free, non-organic production. Using an agent-based modelling framework allows the consideration of heterogeneous farm-specific adaptation responses to voluntary direct payments for crop-specific conversion to pesticide-free but non-organic production systems. The modelling framework is used to assess the effects of changing pesticide policies on farm and sector levels and its implications for (crop-specific) food production in terms of area, volume, value and income. Our approach is illustrated using Switzerland as an example, where voluntary direct payments for a crop-specific conversion to pesticide-free but non-organic production systems will be implemented. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The results show that the extent of crop-specific yield losses has an especially significant effect on the adoption rate of pesticide-free cropping systems. The impacts of introducing voluntary direct payments for pesticide-free production at the national scale imply reduced food (volume) and calorie production but only minimal reductions in the production value, especially due to expected higher prices for pesticide-free products. The effects on farmers' income are small, as participation in pesticide-free production is compensated with direct payments and higher prices and often implies cost reduction in labour and machinery due to non-use of pesticides. To establish large-scale production systems between conventional and organic cropping systems and, thereby, reduce trade-offs resulting from both extremes, policy schemes need to be flexible, allowing the adoption of a pesticide-free paradigm for some parts of the crop rotation but not necessarily entire crop rotations. SIGNIFICANCE This is the first national-scale study on the implications of adopting a pesticide-free, non-organic crop production system by using Swiss crop production as an illustrative example., Agricultural Systems, 207, ISSN:0308-521X