Mar 30, 2009Study Measures Value of Insecticides to Crop Production
The Crop Protection Research Institute (CPRI), part of the CropLife Foundation, has released a comprehensive study on the value of insecticides in U.S. crop production.
The Value of Insecticides in U.S. Crop Production” is the culmination of a three-year effort covering 50 crops. It examines the value of insecticides to production and demonstrates the enormous impact insecticides have in protecting the yields of numerous crops and in feeding millions of people while keeping food inexpensive and abundant, according to CPRI.
Given current economic conditions, it is more important than ever that food and fiber remain affordable. CPRI’s study makes clear that without insecticides and the higher yields they provide, billions of pounds of apples, oranges, potatoes and tomatoes would be lost in the United States annually if not for these front-line weapons against crop-destroying pests. Consumers would pay higher prices for the staples that they and their families rely on.
“Insecticides provide tremendous and wide-ranging benefits at relatively small cost,” said Jay Vroom, chairman of CropLife Foundation. “Without insecticides, many of our crops would see huge production losses. Billions of pounds a year of some of our most basic commodities would see dramatic declines or collapse altogether. The necessity for this crop protection technology is increasingly important as production and consumer demand for food and fiber needs continues to rise.”
The report details several key findings. Of the crops surveyed, 31 of 50 would suffer yield losses of 40 percent or greater and seven crops would see losses of more than 70 percent without the use of insecticides. California, Florida and Washington would see the most dramatic losses in crop production value, and 144 billion pounds of additional food, feed and fiber would be lost annually in the United States.
“Without insecticides for control of crop-feeding insects, production of some crops would be impossible in parts or all of the country,” said Leonard Gianessi, director of CPRI. “With the introduction of synthetic insecticides in the 1950s, production of crops increased dramatically as a result of better insect control. In some cases, as with sweet corn production in Florida, the crop could not be produced at all before synthetic insecticides were made available.”
Many agricultural commodities are vulnerable to the presence of aflatoxins, and insect control is necessary to prevent its passage to the plant. Aflatoxin, a carcinogen, can cause liver and other cancers in humans, lowers the body’s normal immune response and can impair growth in children.
The latest in the series of studies authored by CPRI, “The Value of Insecticides in U.S. Crop Production” follows previously issued studies on herbicide and fungicide use in the United States. Full results of these studies, along with detailed breakdowns by state and crop, can be found at www.croplifefoundation.org.
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