Sustainability is a Mandate
3 June 2011 We need better stories in agriculture. For an industry that provides a basic need for the world, you would think the vilification of modern agriculture would be impossible, but it’s not. Special interests, especially from Western societies, are committed to demonizing modern agriculture practices to satisfy their ideologies.
Our $41 billion pesticide industry is taking the brunt of the criticism. Crop protection products are an easy target for environmentalists and organic advocates, each armed with their share of misinformation and questionable hyperbole.
Subsequently, sustainability isn’t a choice, it’s a mandate. Increasingly, national governments require agriculture companies to protect the environment, and regulations are becoming more rigorous.
In China, factory requirements for molecule originators are adding costs and forcing facility upgrades and layers of safety measures. The added costs associated with these provisions are putting a dent into profits.
In Europe, aerial spraying bans, residue limits and onerous re-registrations are depleting the crop protection arsenal once enjoyed by progressive farmers.
In the United States, increasing regulations have hampered everything from application permits to judicious use of some active ingredients. As regulations are becoming tighter, policy discussions around crop protection are becoming more heated.
Part of the solution lies in our ability to articulate the benefits of modern agriculture, beginning with the responsibility, stewardship and community involvement of manufacturers and distributors around the world.
Farm Chemicals International is proud to tell some of these stories in our annual coverage of the Environmental Respect Awards, sponsored by FCI, sister publication CropLife magazine and DuPont Crop Protection. Through these awards, we are heralding examples of responsible distribution, and they are stories worth telling.
However, it is just a start. Each manufacturer, formulator, distributor and applicator must begin to discuss the benefits of modern agriculture with their families and friends. Begin the conversation, and watch how quickly people come to appreciate the role of production farming in their lives.
Once you are comfortable talking about your business, invite local media to take a tour of your facilities or operations. Our businesses create jobs, contribute to national economies and serve as a pillar for many communities. If we open our doors to the public, much of the fear surrounding our operations will fade away. Transparency breeds trust, and positive public sentiment will follow.
This global communications effort is necessary whether we want it or not. Ideologues are forcing the conversation, and the longer we wait to address it, the more difficult it will be to prove our value in the world.
We don’t need to wait for an annual awards competition to be proud of what we do. We must consider it our obligation to be a daily example of professionalism, community involvement and stewardship so we can create opinions before ideologues attack. Once we are trapped in a this-or-that debate, we will have more trouble winning the hearts and minds of the general public.
But we have something going for us: We help make it possible to feed the world. We create jobs. We operate successful businesses that create stability for communities and we operate in one of the most highly regulated businesses on the planet. Hundreds of national governments have approved our products as safe. So don’t be shy about telling your story with the same passion in which it is sometimes attacked.
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