Formation | July 7, 2001 CropLife November 1996 GPFC |
---|---|
Type | Trade association, International association without lucrative purpose (AISBL), Nonprofit organization |
Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
President & CEO | Emily Rees |
Staff | 20 (2018) [1] |
Website | croplife |
CropLife International is an international trade association of agrochemical companies founded in 2001. It was previously known as Global Crop Protection Federation [2] and started out as International Group of National Associations of Manufacturers of Agrochemical Products [3] in 1967. Its members include the world's largest agricultural biotechnology and agricultural pesticide businesses namely BASF, Bayer CropScience, Corteva, FMC Corp., Sumitomo Chemical and Syngenta. [4] The international body combines several national-level or continent-wide organisations, each one having the same goals but differing according to local language and custom. [5]
In 1967, the International Group of National Associations of Manufacturers of Agrochemical Products (from French : Groupement International des Associations Nationales de Fabricants de Produits Agrochimiques, GIFAP) was founded.[ citation needed ]
In November 1996, GIFAP was renamed to Global Crop Protection Federation (GCPF).[ citation needed ]
On 7 November 2001, GCPF was renamed to CropLife International. [6]
On 2 November 2001, the CROP PROTECTION INSTITUTE OF CANADA morphed into the CropLife Canada entity. [7] In a May 2005 defeat for CropLife Canada, the Court of Appeal for Ontario affirmed the Spraytech v Hudson decision and cemented the power of Canadian municipalities to pass by-laws controlling the use of pesticides within their boundaries. [8]
As of 2023 [update] CropLife International comprises the following six companies: BASF, Bayer CropScience, Corteva, FMC Corp., Sumitomo Chemical and Syngenta. [9] It also has 13 member associations: CropLife Brazil, PROCCYT, ArgenBio, CIB Japan, CropLife Africa Middle East, CropLife America, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, CropLife Asia, CropLife Canada, CropLife Latin America, CropLife Europe and Japan Crop Protection Association. [4] At least one of the "member associations" is actually a not-for-profit corporation, thus giving it legal personality. [7]
CropLife International addresses issues related to crop protection (i.e., pesticides) and plant biotechnology and is part of a global network of crop protection and plant biotechnology associations. [10]
CropLife International works with regional and national biotech associations in more than 40 countries around the world. [11] The CropLife International website says the organization is "the voice and leading advocate for the plant science industry, championing the role of agricultural innovations in crop protection and plant biotechnology to support and advance sustainable agriculture." [12]
CropLife is the parent organization [13] of the Resistance Action Committees:
CropLife has been engaging as an accredited stakeholder to the United Nations, OECD, European Food Safety Authority, the European Chemicals Agency and others. [17] [18]
Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others. The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all pesticide use globally. Most pesticides are used as plant protection products, which in general protect plants from weeds, fungi, or insects. In general, a pesticide is a chemical or biological agent that deters, incapacitates, kills, or otherwise discourages pests. Target pests can include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, molluscs, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms), and microbes that destroy property, cause nuisance, or spread disease, or are disease vectors. Along with these benefits, pesticides also have drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans and other species.
Pesticide resistance describes the decreased susceptibility of a pest population to a pesticide that was previously effective at controlling the pest. Pest species evolve pesticide resistance via natural selection: the most resistant specimens survive and pass on their acquired heritable changes traits to their offspring. If a pest has resistance then that will reduce the pesticide's efficacy – efficacy and resistance are inversely related.
An agrochemical or agrichemical, a contraction of agricultural chemical, is a chemical product used in industrial agriculture. Agrichemical typically refers to biocides alongside synthetic fertilizers. It may also include hormones and other chemical growth agents. Though the application of mineral fertilizers and pesticidal chemicals has a long history, the majority of agricultural chemicals were developed from the 19th century, and their use were expanded significantly during the Green Revolution and the late 20th century. Agriculture that uses these chemicals is frequently called conventional agriculture.
Syngenta Global AG is a global agricultural technology company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It primarily covers crop protection and seeds for farmers. Syngenta is part of the Syngenta Group, entirely owned by Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned enterprise.
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. is a U.S.-based producer of seeds for agriculture. They are a major producer of genetically modified crops with insect and herbicide resistance.
Glufosinate is a naturally occurring broad-spectrum herbicide produced by several species of Streptomyces soil bacteria. Glufosinate is a non-selective, contact herbicide, with some systemic action. Plants may also metabolize bialaphos and phosalacine, other naturally occurring herbicides, directly into glufosinate. The compound irreversibly inhibits glutamine synthetase, an enzyme necessary for the production of glutamine and for ammonia detoxification, giving it antibacterial, antifungal and herbicidal properties. Application of glufosinate to plants leads to reduced glutamine and elevated ammonia levels in tissues, halting photosynthesis and resulting in plant death.
Dow AgroSciences LLC was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company specializing in not only agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, but also seeds and biotechnology solutions. The company was based in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States. On 31 January 2006, Dow AgroSciences announced that it had received regulatory approval for the world's first plant-cell-produced vaccine against Newcastle disease virus from USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics. Dow AgroSciences operates brand names such as Sentricon, Vikane, Mycogen®, SmartStax®, Enlist™, Pfister Seed®, PhytoGen®, Prairie Brand Seed®, Alforex Seeds®, Profume, Dairyland Seed®, and Brodbeck Seed®.
Dicamba is a selective systemic herbicide first registered in 1967. Brand names for formulations of this herbicide include Dianat, Banvel, Diablo, Oracle and Vanquish. This chemical compound is a chlorinated derivative of o-anisic acid. It has been described as a "widely used, low-cost, environmentally friendly herbicide that does not persist in soils and shows little or no toxicity to wildlife and humans."
Acibenzolar-S-methyl is the ISO common name for an organic compound that is used as a fungicide. Unusually, it is not directly toxic to fungi but works by inducing systemic acquired resistance, the natural defence system of plants.
Azoxystrobin is a broad spectrum systemic fungicide widely used in agriculture to protect crops from fungal diseases. It was first marketed in 1996 using the brand name Amistar and by 1999 it had been registered in 48 countries on more than 50 crops. In the year 2000 it was announced that it had been granted UK Millennium product status.
Cyhalothrin is an organic compound that, in specific isomeric forms, is used as a pesticide. It is a pyrethroid, a class of synthetic insecticides that mimic the structure and properties of the naturally occurring insecticide pyrethrin which is present in the flowers of Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium. Pyrethroids, such as cyhalothrin, are often preferred as an active ingredient in agricultural insecticides because they are more cost-effective and longer acting than natural pyrethrins. λ-and γ-cyhalothrin are now used to control insects and spider mites in crops including cotton, cereals, potatoes and vegetables.
Saflufenacil is the ISO common name for an organic compound of the pyrimidinedione chemical class used as an herbicide. It acts by inhibiting the enzyme protoporphyrinogen oxidase to control broadleaf weeds in crops including soybeans and corn.
Cyproconazole is an agricultural fungicide of the class of azoles, used on cereal crops, coffee, sugar beet, fruit trees and grapes, and peanuts, on sod farms and golf course turf and on wood as a preservative. It has been used against powdery mildew, rust on cereals and apple scab, and applied by air or on the ground or by chemigation.
The Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC) was formed in 1984 and works as a specialist technical group of the industry association CropLife to be able to provide a coordinated industry response to prevent or delay the development of insecticide resistance in insect and mite pests. IRAC strives to facilitate communication and education on insecticide and traits resistance as well as to promote the development and facilitate the implementation of insecticide resistance management strategies.
Corteva, Inc. is a major American agricultural chemical and seed company that was the agricultural unit of DowDuPont prior to being spun off as an independent public company.
UPL Limited, formerly United Phosphorus Limited, is an Indian multinational company that manufactures and markets agrochemicals, industrial chemicals, chemical intermediates, and specialty chemicals, and also offers pesticides. Headquartered in Mumbai, the company is engaged in both agro and non-agro activities. The agro-business is the company's primary source of revenue and includes the manufacture and marketing of conventional agrochemical products, seeds, and other agriculture-related products. The non-agro segment includes manufacturing and marketing industrial chemicals and other non-agricultural products such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators, rodenticides, industrial & specialty chemicals, and nutrifeeds. UPL products are sold in 150+ countries.
Pydiflumetofen is a broad spectrum fungicide used in agriculture to protect crops from fungal diseases. It was first marketed by Syngenta in 2016 using their brand name Miravis. The compound is an amide which combines a pyrazole acid with a substituted phenethylamine to give an inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase, an enzyme that inhibits cellular respiration in almost all living organisms.
3-(Difluoromethyl)-1-methyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylic acid is a chemical compound which is used commercially as an intermediate to seven fungicides which act by inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase (SDHI). It consists of a pyrazole ring with difluoromethyl, methyl and carboxylic acid groups attached in specific positions.
Prosulfocarb is a pre-emergent herbicide used agriculturally in Australia, the EU, Japan, New Zealand,, Morocco and Iran, for control of annual ryegrass and toad rush in wheat and barley crops. It was introduced to the EU in 1988 and is rapidly growing in use, with sales increasing by over 500% in France since 2008.