With the current rate of crop protection revocations being faster than new product launches, the future lies in more targeted solutions, believes FMC’s marketing & plant health lead UK & IE, Geoffrey Bastard.

“The industry is losing a lot of broad spectrum products and in a way this is positive, because with greater scrutiny comes better environmental profiles which should be more accepted by consumers.

“At the same time there’s a shifting focus towards plant health which in part could be due to the influence of regenerative agriculture. But regardless, we’re having to understand the core principles of crop production at a much deeper level, from plant biology to soil health.

“By using this knowledge alongside crop protection solutions, it helps to safeguard the chemistry and ensure market longevity, particularly when accompanied by stringent stewardship,” says Geoffrey.

Policy threat

He identifies policy as one of the biggest threats to the ag chem industry. “It’s key to avoid politicisation of science when the volume of plant production products in the UK has reduced so significantly during the past 20 years.

“We have to be more vocal about the good work that many are doing with chemistry. Again, a lot of this is down to stewardship – using products correctly so that farmers can continue to have a reliable spray shed,” adds Geoffrey.

Biopesticides

He suggests an area for growth will be biopesticides which he notes are already accelerating worldwide. “Hopefully these types of products can plug some of the gaps left following revocations, we just have to ensure robust testing is undertaken.

“Equally, there’s the potential for technology to compensate – anything which improves environmental or operator safety is a good thing. This includes modelling for pests and diseases, or high-tech detection methods, to ensure products are applied at optimum timings,” highlights Geoffrey.

Farming influence

With farming being influential in Geoffrey’s life from a young age, he says his career goal is to launch a new technology to the market. “Providing farmers with a means of making their lives easier is a very rewarding thing to do.

“But many cross-industry challenges can be approached in different ways; I’m involved in one of these to help to solve a problem. Realistically, plant protection products are just one of a range of solutions, but any tool which helps to alleviate a burden involved in growing a crop has to be a positive.”

Knowledge transfer

With so much information available at the click of a button, Geoffrey’s concluding point is regarding distillation. “It’s how information is broken down to farmers so they can make informed choices regarding their crop management.

“It’s all about choosing the right tool and therefore solution.”

This article stems from CPM’s Arable Farming 2050 feature, which was written to celebrate the magazine’s 25th anniversary.