Crop protection products, commonly referred to as pesticides or agrochemical products, are both naturally occurring and man made (synthetic) chemicals that play a vital role in controlling the diseases, insects and weeds that harm or destroy our food crops and threaten public health.  With growing global populations constantly challenging food production, crop protection products offer a means towards meeting the challenge of more food, less land.

The use of crop protection brings numerous benefits and makes a significant contribution to the lifestyles we have come to expect. These benefits are not confined to the users of pesticides, but reach the great majority of people across the world. The general public often take for granted or oppose the use of pesticides, but they make possible the year-round availability of high-quality, affordable food. Similarly, the environment and wild plants, birds and animals benefit from the carefully regulated application of chemical pesticides.

In Australia, crop protection products help agricultural industries produce safe, high quality, affordable and abundant food and fibre that is competitive on world markets.  They increase Australian crop yields by about 40% as well as increasing the value of our food production by $13 billion each year.

In crop protection, product lines are generally divided into herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and others.

Herbicides - prevent or reduce weeds and thus replace or reduce the need for manual and mechanical weeding and tillage. Manual weeding has been linked with occupational health and safety issues such as lower back and limb pain, while mechanical weeding destroys soil structure and soil flora and fauna.  Because herbicides reduce the need for cultivation, they can prevent soil erosion and water loss, and are widely used in conservation farming.

Herbicides can be divided into two categories

• Non-selective herbicides, which stop the growth of all plants; and
• Selective herbicides, which are crop-specific and control weeds without harming the crop.

Insecticides - insects can significantly reduce crop yields and quality through their feeding.  Insect damage also assists the entry of bacterial and fungal diseases thus further reducing the value of the crop.  Insects such as aphids and scale insects can also carry virus diseases from plant to plant and insecticides help minimise this damage by controlling insect pests.

In addition to their use in agriculture, insecticides play an important role in public health programs to control the mosquito carriers of disease-causing organisms such as the malaria parasite and viruses such as Ross River Virus, West Nile virus, Kunjin virus and Murray Valley Encephalitis virus.

Fungicides - help improve crop yields and quality by preventing or controlling fungal plant diseases. They also prevent the development of mycotoxins that are produced by a number of fungal species and are harmful to human health.

Whilst recognising the vital role crop protection products play in today’s society, it is important to note that their use in Australia and worldwide is, in all contexts, highly regulated so as to assure safety for users, consumers and the environment.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority ensures that all crop protection products meet stringent safety requirements. They must be safe from the viewpoint of occupational health and safety, the environment and public health. They must also be effective and meet stringent compositional and storage stability criteria. The labeling of agricultural chemicals is strictly regulated to ensure that the product is used in a way that minimises risk. (For more information see: Some Facts about the Approval of Pesticides in Australia)

Further information about crop protection products is also available at, 'About Crop Protection Products' at http://www.ecpa.be/commonground/ or on the CropLife International website.