CropLife Asia and regional plant science industry echo UN call to raise our voice for nature this World Environment Day

Singapore, 5 June 2020 – This World Environment Day, CropLife Asia and the region’s plant science industry are echoing the United Nation’s (UN) call to promote awareness and action in protecting our environment. With this year’s theme centered on biodiversity, the innovations of plant science helping conserve millions of species of organisms and their habitats serving as the world’s source of energy, food and water are more relevant and crucial than ever.

Agriculture, with its reliance on ecosystem services like healthy soils, clean water and pollination, is particularly susceptible to the loss of biodiversity. As such, natural environments must be conserved to protect the health and livelihoods of people – particularly those of the roughly 350 million smallholder farmers who call Asia home.

Currently, 87 of the leading 115 global food crops depend on animal pollination. The contribution of pollinators is immense and is valued at over US$200 billion annually. However, pollinators are vulnerable as great expanses of land are being converted to farmland, resulting in sporadic availability of food and lack of places to nest.

On this front, CropLife Asia has actively worked with its national associations and stakeholders to promote training among farmers to protect pollinators and increase farm productivity.

One particular partnership, among CropLife Asia, CropLife India, the India Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Krishi Vigyam Kendra (KVK) Baramati, carried out a stewardship program to educate 500 pomegranate growers and onion seed producers on the responsible use of crop protection products for the sustainability of bee flora and biodiversity. Known as Madhu Sandesh, the project ensured farmers were provided regular training on Integrated Pest Management (IPM), trained for bee health management and supplied with bee hives for pollination purposes. At the end of five seasons, there was an increased fruit set of over 92% (up from 71.1%) with an increased crop production of 16%. Onion seed production also increased by 17%.

By helping farmers grow more food on less land and with fewer resources, crop protection and biotechnology are helping preserve natural habitats and drive symbiosis between agriculture and the environment. Biotechnology has allowed for the development of crops with increased yield potential, greater drought tolerance, salt tolerance, heat tolerance and nitrogen-use efficiency. Notably, nitrogen-use efficient crops have been observed to yield 15% more per acre than crops without the trait, reducing the need for more farmland to increase output.

“Food production will have to increase by 50% to feed the world’s population by 2050. We can achieve this and still protect our environment by transforming food systems, encouraging innovation and research and adopting sustainable farming practices,” said Dr. Siang Hee Tan, Executive Director of CropLife Asia.

“There is immense potential for the plant science industry to help conserve natural environments and promote biodiversity to flourish. We remain committed to partnering with Asia’s growers and all food stakeholders to advocate the use of biotechnology and crop protection to ensure farmers’ wellbeing and ability to sustainably feed the world.”

To effectively meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, specifically those on reducing hunger and poverty, the plant science industry will continue to educate farmers on the responsible use of crop protection and advance improvements and use of seed and biotechnology, all while safeguarding the delicate balance of natural ecosystems.