Extending The Value Of Agriculture
8 December 2008 Where once plant science was about growing healthy plants, it is now about growing healthy plants that also meet unique needs, such as vegetables with higher nutritive value, oilseeds that produce healthier cooking oils, and crops that create polymers to replace plastics and man-made fabrics. The role for agriculture to supply unique, renewable, healthy resources has been growing dramatically and there are many more opportunities to come.
Conserving Resources, Increasing Production
Increasing farm production to meet these needs must be done with ever-limited resources: less land, less soil, less water, less biodiversity, less CO2 emission, and also fewer farmers.
The tipping point has now arrived where more people live in cities than in the country. Despite the rising demand for food, agriculture has maintained a stable area of land since 1950.
The plant science industry helps farmers rise to these challenges by growing more with finite resources. From the creation of new crop varieties that are more drought tolerant to the support for reduced tillage practices, we play a vital role in reducing the labor and fossil fuels required to grow crops.
Promoting Responsibility
On top of that, the protection from pests and diseases offered by our products increases per-acre productivity by as much as 50%. Biotechnology and crop protection combined have put more money in farmers’ pockets through increased yields, and have almost halved the percentage of people in our world who are malnourished.
This has come by promoting the responsible use of our products around the world — and there is more to be done. This is not an industry that has advocated “use more, use more.” This is an industry that has encouraged people to choose its products when they want them, use them only when needed, and use only as much as needed. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to sustainability, safety and stewardship – the three “S’s” that have driven the efforts of CropLife International globally for years.
Training And Investment
CropLife International and its members put a strong emphasis and considerable investment into the stewardship of their technologies and products. Last year alone, training on the responsible use of pesticides and integrated pest management techniques was conducted with over 350,000 farmers and 5,000 extension workers, as well as 75,000 other stakeholders, including retailers.
It has also come through tremendous investment in research and in innovation.
In 2005, the top 10 plant science companies spent US $3.75 billion on R&D (7.5% of sales in crop protection and 25% of sales in plant genomics and biotech). This is a level of commitment comparable to the percentages invested by pharmaceuticals and information technology. Through the efforts of plant science and processors, and the dedication of farmers, the value of agriculture continues to increase and benefit the globe with renewable, sustainable products
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