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New R&D Video   CropLife International’s new video “Research and Development in Plant Science” shows the complex, lengthy and resource intensive R&D process from finding the right chemical compound to extensive safety testing of the final product and beyond. The video gives an insight into the huge number of people and the enormous amount of time and resources necessary today to bring even a single product to the market. To see the video click here. To see the video in Spanish click here.

 

The leading companies represented by CropLife International spend considerable time, effort and funds on Research and Development (R&D) to produce new and improved crop protection products. The aim of R&D programmes is to develop new products, as well as improving the activity and safety of older products through improved formulation, packaging and delivery. Crop protection is one of the most research-intensive industries globally. R&D activity enables our industry to innovate, which creates jobs and contributes to economic growth while enabling even safer and more effective products to be launched.

The leading companies represented by CropLife International spend considerable time, effort and funds on research and development programmes aimed at discovering and developing new active ingredients, as well as improving the activity and safety of older products through improved formulation, packaging and delivery

The goal of the industry’s research and development programmes is to improve the range and quality of its crop protection products. These advances, include both the refinement of existing products and the development of new products and applications.

On average, CropLife International’s leading companies spend approximately 7.5% of sales on research and development for crop protection products.  This ratio places the plant science industry among the most R&D intensive business sectors.  For the top ten leading crop protection companies this amounts to some US$2,250 million per year.

All companies are working to create new products or reformulate older products so that they are biological efficient, environmentally sound, user friendly and economically viable.

A new crop protection product takes 8 to 9 years and approximately US$200 million to develop (from discovery to first sales); on average around 25 %, and as much as 40%, of the cost is on researching non-target (including mammalian) toxicology, environmental fate and impacts.

Further details of the plant science industry’s research and development programmes for crop protection products can be found in a report available here.