Globally, farmers lose 30 to 40 percent of their crops due to pests and diseases, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization. To help reduce these losses, farmers use an approach known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) where they use the best combination of cultural, biological and chemical measures to keep their crops pest free. When it comes to chemical intervention, there are three main categories:
Herbicides: These kill or stop the growth of unwanted weeds. Worldwide, farmers have to contend with more than 30,000 species of weeds which fight with food crops for space, water and soil nutrients.
Insecticides: These kill insects and mites, such as these Bug Thugs. More than 10,000 species of plant-eating insects and 3,000 species of roundworms can attack farmers’ crops around the world leaving food damaged and inedible.
Fungicides: These destroy or prevent the growth of disease-causing fungi. There are more than 50,000 diseases that get inside crops and poison or kill plant cells.
Without chemical protection, global crop yields would be decimated – here’s a snapshot of what your local market might look like if farmers didn’t have this vital tool.
Fruits and vegetables contain many beneficial natural chemicals like proteins and vitamins, however, some can also contain natural toxins. The potato, for example, contains the naturally occurring pesticide solanine to prevent insect attack. Solanine could be deadly in high quantities but the amount found in potatoes is harmless. This infographic helps put these natural chemicals into perspective.
Farmers have a range of tools in their pest-management toolbox to protect our food from attack. Crop protection products are just one of those tools and farmers only apply them when they are needed and use as little as possible. But how little is little? Click here to see our video!
Edwin Paraluman knows a thing or two about how important biotechnology is to Filipino farmers. He’s a farmer, the chairman of the Philippines Farmer Advisory Board, the coordinator of the Asian Farmers Regional Network and a board member of the Biotech Coalition of the Philippines. Hear his amazing story about how biotech transformed his life and agriculture in the Philippines. Continue reading….
The 10th Pan-Asia Farmers Exchange Program, organized by CropLife Asia, CropLife Philippines and Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines (BCP) was held on Mar 14-18, 2016 in the Philippines. A total of 26 participants – farmer and farmer leaders, government officers, scientists, researchers and members of the media from Australia, India, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the event.
Attendees learned about plant biotechnology and its benefits, the importance of science-based and functional biosafety regulatory framework, and the different biotech initiatives and experiences happening in other countries. Among the experts who presented were Dr. Gabriel Romero, Regulatory Affairs Lead of Monsanto Philippines, who presented an overview of modern biotechnology; Mr. Abraham Manalo, Executive Secretary, BCP, who introduced the Philippine Biosafety Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotech Crops; Ms. Jenny Panopio, Senior Regulatory Affairs Associate, Asia-Pacific at DuPont-Pioneer, who shared experiences in communicating biotechnology and biosafety in the Philippines; Mr. Simeon Cuyson, Executive Director, CropLife Philippines, who talked about prevention of soil erosion in upland corn areas; Dr. Bruce Tolentino, Director-General, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), who introduced its mission in helping attain food security through its various researches and projects; and Dr. Violeta Villegas, Golden Rice Network Coordinator, IRRI, who elaborated on the Golden Rice Project.
Besides having seminar briefings on biotechnology, the participants were able to visit the Rice World Museum, laboratories, gene bank and golden rice screen house of IRRI; the Monsanto Philippines Refuge-In-Bag (RIB) Plant; and Syngenta Learning Center for gm corn, where they were also given a chance to eat cooked gm corn. Participants were also able to interact with actual gm corn farmers, Romulo Gabriel, Alberto Gabriel and Rodolfo Pascual, who shared how their lives improved when they started planting gm corn.
The group at a gm corn farm at Camiling, Tarlac, Philippines
And to recognize 20 years of plant biotechnology, the program was ended with a themed lunch, “Table for Twenty”, where organizers, participants and guests from the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Plant Industry, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) and SEARCA – Biotechnology Information Center were able to converse on their agri-biotech experiences and challenges, and possible actions to these challenges.
Since biotech crops were first commercially planted in 1996, farmers worldwide have been enjoying numerous agronomic, economic, and environmental benefits. To celebrate 20 years of biotech successes, CropLife are organizing Table for Twenty events around the world, throughout the year. These dinner dialogues bring together leading voices in agriculture, food policy, and science to reflect back and consider the future of farming. Check out CropLife’s Top 20 Biotech Triumphs fact sheet and infographic and get involved in the discussion at tablefortwenty.org!
We sat down with Sir Gordon Conway to celebrate 20 years of plant biotechnology at our Table for Twenty event in Rome. Sir Gordon is a professor of international development at Imperial College London and director of Agriculture for Impact. We asked him some important questions about plant biotechnology and the impact it can have, especially in Africa. Watch the video interview to hear his responses. Click to see the video.
Higher food prices, a significant boost in greenhouse gas emissions due to land use change and major loss of forest and pasture land would be some results if genetically modified organisms in the United States were banned, according to a Purdue University study. Continue reading…
Did you know that China, India, Pakistan, United States and Brazil are among the top cotton-producing countries in the world? Farmers here rely on biotech cotton to fill the need for our favorite plant textile. Read on for more cotton facts. Continue reading…
