Global Perspective on Pesticides

Abstract

World food supplies will have to be doubled several times by 2025 to ensure food in sufficient quantity, due to increase in population, greater urbanization and spending power. Among the technology packages which need to be developed to increase agricultural production to during the next three decades are: germplasm, crop protection products, fertilizers, irrigation systems, technkal equipment, management concepts such as integrated pest management, integrated crop management and precision farming. The annual losses due to pests especially for rice, wheat, barley, maize, potatoes, soybeans, cotton and coffee are estimated to be 50% of the total crop area worldwide. Pre-harvest losses caused by insect pests constitute 15%, pathogens – 13%, weeds – 14%, and post harvest losses, an additional 10%. Presently, pesticides are used only in about 1/3 of the total cropped area in the world, 75% of which is in North America, Europe and Japan, and 25% in the developing world. Studies show that for each US$6.5 billion in pest control save approximately US$26 billion in crops, based on direct costs and benefits. Thus, to produce more food, it is important that crops be protected against diseases, pests and weeds. It is therefore the ultimate strategy of crop protection companies to produce improved, pest-specific chemicals that are less harmful to human health and the environment and less likely to affect non-large species than earlier broad spectrum chemicals. Companies that offer farmers solutions that make use of synergies between chemical crop protection and biotechnology will have an important competitive advantage.

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