Agriculture Economics

Crop Protection

Plant pests and diseases can wipe out farmers’ hard work and cause significant losses to yields and incomes, posing a major threat to food security. Globalization, trade and climate change, as well as reduced resilience in production systems due to decades of agricultural intensification and biodiversity loss, have all played a part in the dramatic increase and spread of transboundary plant pests and diseases. Pests and diseases can easily spread to several countries and reach epidemic proportions. Outbreaks and upsurges can cause huge losses to crops and pastures, threatening the livelihoods of farmers and the food and nutrition security of millions at a time.