A new study has outlined that costs associated with research and development (R&D) in the crop protection sector have increased considerably throughout the last decade.
Research conducted by agribusiness consultant Phillips McDougall and commissioned by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) and Crop Life America found that costs related to the discovery, development and registration of new crop pest and disease agents increased 68.4 per cent to €189m over a ten-year period.
The study also found that the cost of taking a product through development stages increased from US$67m in 1995 to US$79m in 2000, an increase of 17.9 per cent, and by 84.8 per cent to US$146m between 2005-2008.
However, the average number of products which actually make it through the development stage has declined from an average of four in 1995 to two in 2000, and 1.3 on average in 2005-2008.
'Despite the EU's Strategy 2020 aspirations to grow innovation, the reality for our industry is quite the opposite... it is becoming very hard to justify agrochemical R&D in the EU,' said Friedhelm Schmider, director general of the ECPA. 'At the same time, if we consider that the need for agrochemical innovation is urgent and crucial to facing critical global challenges like food security, invasive species and climate adaption, we can see that such a lengthy timeline and high cost certainly impedes a rapid response.'
Total expenditure on agrochemical R&D by the companies surveyed is expected to increase by a further 26.4 per cent between 2007 and 2012, with increases spread across the entire spectrum of the R&D process.
'Innovation is the heart and soul of our industry and its cost has increased significantly,' Mr Schmider added. 'We are engaged in a constant quest to improve our contribution to maintaining the food supply. Without advanced pest management, roughly 50 per cent of today's food crop production would be destroyed by pests and disease.'
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