Global Crop Protection Industry

Abstract

The problem of the steady food supply to the population is becoming particularly pressing in the face of a projected decrease in the specific area of agricultural land per resident. In an effort to increase crop yields, agriculture depends mainly on chemical plant protection agents (PPAs), which produce strong negative effects. The research activities need to be concentrated on developing the alternative plant protection technologies that will ensure a sufficient crop yield increase. Based on statistical data of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and studies and analytical reviews on protection of agricultural crops, the present work describes current market trends in the global crop protection industry: the volume and dynamics of the global PPA market, the regional distribution of this market, and the consolidation of key producers. Recent years have seen a decrease in the number of new chemical PPAs entering the market due to the greater research effort devoted to novel crop protection technologies, in particular genetically modified crops (GM crops), biological PPAs, and other alternative technologies, which are being developed and put on the market in response to increasingly stringent regulations in agrochemistry and ecology. Recommendations are made to producers of agrochemicals that will allow them to remain competitive and contribute to satisfaction of the growing demand for agricultural products