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New Zealand’s economy would lose up to $11.4 billion without crop protection products

The New Zealand Institute of Economic Development recently released a landmark report, showing that New Zealand’s economy would lose up to $11.4 billion without crop protection products (CPP) – and that crops would lose 30 percent of their value overall.

The report covers forestry, pasture, horticulture, field crops and vegetable production.

Agcarm chief executive, Mark Ross, says that the report highlights the importance of the crop protection industry to New Zealand’s economy.

“Not only does the industry have an important part to play in supporting the economy, it is also vital for producing safe food and protecting our environment. It develops tools to manage biosecurity incursions which damage our native species and crops,” says Ross.

Crop protection products have a far-reaching impact on our land-based sectors. Without them, many industries would face significant losses. Horticulture, for example, would lose 75 percent of the value of its crops. A severely reduced kiwifruit production would have resulted from the deadly 2010 PSA outbreak. Vegetable growers face losses of around 88 percent. In many cases, it would not be possible to grow commercial quantities of crops without these products. In other cases, yields would be much lower and the economic impact of this would be substantial.

The industry is committed to the responsible use of crop protection products – from researching the best ways of managing damaging pests and diseases, through to safe use and disposal. This includes ensuring that any waste plastic containers are recycled and repurposed through the Agrecovery programme.

Our industry focusses on stewardship and ensuring that there continues to be a variety of new products to offer pest control solutions for growers and farmers. Agrichemicals that are more environmentally-friendly, more effective and more targeted allow farmers to better control target pests, while protecting human health and allowing beneficial flora and fauna to prosper.