CropLife Asia & Plant Science Industry Mark World Environment Day 2018

T his World Environment Day, CropLife Asia and the region’s plant science industry have joined together to recognize our shared responsibility to practice good stewardship of the environment as well as conversation of the precious natural resources on which we all depend – and to raise awareness of agricultural innovations that improve the productivity, health and quality of crops while reducing agriculture’s environmental impact.

Plant biotechnology allows farmers to grow more food on less land. Since biotech crops were first commercially planted in 1996, farmers have saved over 132 million hectares of land from cultivation and increased crop yields by 22%. This means preserving more wildlands and natural habitats for animals.

Crop protection products reduce food waste and protect biodiversity. Food crops compete with 30,000 species of weeds, 3,000 species of nematodes and 10,000 species of plant-eating insects, which have the potential to destroy up to 40% of the world’s food production each year. Crop protection products help farmers fight off these pests while protecting crops and reducing food loss.

In addition to the many benefits plant science technology is delivering to farmers that enable conservation of natural resources, the industry in Asia is undertaking a host of stewardship activities and engagements that are helping ensure responsible use of the technology as well as less environmental impact.

The particular issue of responsible use of crop protection products among smallholder farmers in Asia is one that CropLife Asia and the industry take very seriously. To that end, CropLife has partnered with regional governments, civil society and diverse food value chain stakeholders to advance responsible use of crop protection technology across the region.

Through these partnerships, the plant science industry regularly trains farmers, government officers, retailers and others to better ensure responsible use practices are adopted. From 2005-2015 alone, CropLife has helped train both directly and indirectly over 15 million men and women across Asia.

Another core aspect of the crop protection stewardship efforts undertaken by CropLife in Asia and around the world is container management. Responsible container management practices help protect both the environment and farmers’ health. Between 2005 and 2016, a total of 706,000 metric tons of plastic from pesticide containers were collected and recycled.