agricultural dialog - curtailing the cure? - october 2011
DESCRIPTION
EU agriculture plays a vital role in ensuring food security and driving our economy. In their attempt to supply enough healthy and high-quality food, farmers face a constant threat from crop disease. Since the 1940s fungicides have enabled farmers to prevent and treat diseases, but potential Regulation that could reduce access to these important tools looks likely to have a dramatic impact.TRANSCRIPT
AgriculturAl DiAlogue 14
iNForMAtioN FroM tHe AgriculturAl iNDuStrY | OCTOBER 2011
iMPriNt
www.agro.basf.com
BASF SE
Agricultural Center Limburgerhof
AP/K - LI555
67117 Limburgerhof
Germany
Rainer von Mielecki
AP/K – Public/Government Affairs
Phone: +49 (0) 621 / 60-27 511
Fax: +49 (0) 621 / 60-27 512
Curtailing the cure?EU agriculture plays a vital role in ensuring food security and driving our economy. In their attempt to supply enough healthy and high-quality food, farmers face a constant threat from crop disease. Since the 1940s fungicides have enabled farmers to prevent and treat diseases, but potential Regulation that could reduce access to these important tools looks likely to have a dramatic impact.
Illness is not only a human condition. Agricultural crops are vulnerable to deadly fungal and viral infections including Septoria tritici, Fusarium, Rust, Powdery mildew and Eyespot. In Europe fungi have traditionally been the more prevalent threat to arable crops, and have proven devastating if left untreated – destroying up to 40% of the total harvest.
Fungicides, like antibiotics in human healthcare, revolutionised disease treatment. Their introduction in the 1940s prompted the start of the green revolution; an ongoing period of marked agricultural yield increases. In addition to dramatically reducing yield losses from illness, fungicides enable the cultivation of high yield varieties that would otherwise be susceptible to disease.
AgriculturAl DiAlogue 14 iNForMAtioN FroM tHe AgriculturAl iNDuStrY | octoBer 2011 4
eDitoriAl
Dear Readers,
The contribution of fungicides to EU agriculture is often overlooked. Since the 1940’s they have enabled the transition to high yield crop varieties, improving access to healthy and affordable food.
Increasing incidence of plant disease, driven by climate change, means that today’s farmers rely on fungicides more than ever. Concerns persist however that regulation could limit access to these products resulting in over-reliance on a very limited set of solutions, quickly leading to resistance.
This edition of the Agricultural Dialogue takes a closer look at the pressing need for resistance management, the socio-economic contribution of fungicides, and the science on their safety. We are fortunate to have the insight of two of the foremost global experts in this fi eld, Prof. Dr. Michael Schmitz (Institute of Agribusiness, University of Giessen) and Dr. Ronald Kendall (Texas Tech University).
Markus HeldtPresident, Crop Protection Division, BASF SE
applications of fungicides, the release of the active ingredient is generally relatively low, which means a reduced level of exposure for humans. Since one of the basic tenants of toxicology is “the dose makes the poison”, low levels of human exposure to the active ingredients in fungicides are preferred.
As a leading toxicologist what do you think about the ongoing debate in the EU about the endocrine disruptors, especially with reference to fungicides?
There is a great deal of controversy and debate on just the defi nition of an endocrine disruptor, much less the science needed to understand the relevance of endocrine disruption in terms of human health and the environment. In general, the emerging scientifi c area of endocrine disruptors will take a great deal of work to defi ne and validate the tests needed to determine relevant endocrine endpoints that can be interpreted to protect human health in the environment.
Does the recent conversion to hazard based assessment of fungicides make this debate disproportionately threatening to crop health?
If one just addresses a hazard based assessment of fungicides without considering “dose”, this discounts one of the basic tenants in toxicology and that being “dose makes the poison”. Therefore, in the science of risk assessment, one needs to consider in addition to hazard an incorporated exposure assessment, in other words “dose”. Also, oftentimes high-dose tests are used in hazard identifi cation yet the approved agricultural uses, which are effective in pest management, involve much lower concentrations of the fungicide. Therefore, the ultimate net effect of using hazard-based assessments could be to put crop health at risk while overcompensating for human health protection.
There appears to be disagreement amongst experts on the safety of available fungicides. Can you explain what lies behind this difference of opinion?
If one just considers high-dose laboratory experiments for the identifi cation of toxic effects from pesticides, such as fungicides, then one is probably not getting the whole picture related to exposure and effects. As an environmental toxicologist, my view is that we must take laboratory data and then consider environmentally realistic exposure scenarios when we are evaluating dose response and conducting a risk assessment.
Prof. Dr. Michael Schmitz is recognized as a global expert on the impacts of EU and international agricultural policy. He is the founder and di-rector of the Institute of Agribusiness located in Giessen, Germany. He currently teaches at the Institute of Agricultural
Policy and Market Research of the University of Giessen. Prof. Dr. Schmitz is Member of the Scientifi c Advisory Board on Agriculture Policy at the German Agriculture Ministry.
How important are azoles to crop protection and what action would you propose to pro-tect EU crop yields? “We access the future im-portance of azoles very favorably. In our opinion they are not replaceable and have the highest impact on plant health and yields with regard to resistance management, curative action and broad spectrum. Our results show that farmers and technical experts in UK, France and Ger-many would fi nd it very diffi cult to combat fu-sarium and septoria tritici without azole-based products and there is a strong consensus among all countries that restriction of azoles would have disastrous impacts on resistance management; becoming extremely diffi cult or almost impossible, especially in the case of septoria.
Restriction of azoles would have a strong im-pact on disease control due to missing curative effects, higher costs, more time consuming and strongly limited treatment possibilities. Disease levels would be much higher due to poor and unreliable control of core diseases, and an ina-bility to eradicate established diseases.
Our analysis shows the importance of maintai-ning as broad a spectrum of plant protection products as possible to avoid the growth of disease resistance. The azoles are important because of their curative as well as protective properties. Maintaining access for farmers will reduce the pressure to increase more than pro-portionately usage of other, less effective, subs-titutes.”
Prof. Dr. Schmitz headed a joint research study between Trinity College Dublin and the Institute of Agribusiness published in April 2011, entit-led: “Restricted avai-lability of azole based fungicides: impacts on EU farmers and crop agriculture” http://www.agribusiness.de/images/stories/pdf/iab_nr_27_triazole.pdf
lability of azole based
http://www.agribusiness.de/
Sou
rce:
Cro
pLife
Did you know?
The European agriculture sector is worth 675 billion euros a year and employs more than 11.2 million people, equating to 14.2% of EU manufacturing export.
Cereals (258m tons) are the main crop grown in the EU.
The demand for wheat in the EU is expected to rise at a rate (21%) that cannot be supported by the expected rise in production (7%).
According to the UN FAO fungicides prevent losses estimated to be between 15 and 30% of global wheat harvests – equivalent to 44 billion loaves of bread, or the amount of bread consumed in Germany each year.
An EU ban of azoles would: B Create an annual EU welfare loss es-
timated to be between 4.4 billion and 5.6 billion USD that would be mainly borne by producers
B Reduce yields significantly (average = Germany 17%, UK 16%, France 23%)
B Result in the net EU trade position on wheat changing from an export of 8.7 million tonnes, to an import status of 9.6 million tonnes
Potato blight which caused the deaths of an estimated 1 million people during the Irish potato famine in 1845 is still a serious threat to harvests.
Wheat rust spreads as billions of spores in the wind. They move incrementally from field to field and need wet weather to thrive.
AgriculturAl DiAlogue 14 2 iNForMAtioN FroM tHe AgriculturAl iNDuStrY | octoBer 2011 3
1800
2000
2200
2400
Utilization
Production
Stocks
200
400
600
800
Milliontonnes
Milliontonnes
2011/12
2010/11
2009/10
2008/09
2007/08
2006/07
2005/06
2004/05
2003/04
2002/03
2001/02
Minimal risk, maximum rewardFollowing the implementation of the EU Regulation 1107/2009, pesticides (including fungicides) will - uniquely in EU regulation - be assessed on the basis of hazard rather than risk. Practically, a substance with characteristics that might require an additional label in other applications could well be banned for use in crop protection. Dr. Ronald Kendall (Texas Tech University), one of the world’s foremost experts on the toxicology, shares his opinion on fungicides, also commenting on the new assessment criteria.
After a thorough assessment of all the scientific literature, what is your opinion on the safety of fungicides?
Generally speaking, fungal diseases are extremely difficult to control in agriculture without chemical application. Fungicidal chemicals are derived from a variety of structures. These include simple inorganic compounds, such as copper sulfate, to complex organic compounds. Although the scientific literature is voluminous and complex regarding fungicide toxicology, generally speaking these crop protection products can be used safely and effectively under practical agricultural applications when used according to the label and applied by trained professionals.
What is the toxicological profile of fungicides?
With few exceptions, fungicides have relatively low acute toxicity in mammals. However, some have historically produced positive results in genotoxicity tests and, if such effects were demonstrated, many of these products have been regulated out of use.
What are the dosage limits when looking at commercially sold fungicides and how does this relate to human health?
Generally speaking, a fungicide is applied as a formulation which includes an active ingredient that is mixed with inert ingredients to enhance application. Therefore, the commercial formulation of a fungicide is not 100% active ingredient. When one considers the general commercial
About Dr. Ronald Kendall
Dr. Ronald Kendall is the founder and
director of the Institute of Environmental
and Human Health at Texas Tech
University as well as the founding chair and
professor of the university’s Department
of Environmental Toxicology. Since
1997, the Institute of Environmental and
Human Health (IEHH) has distinguished
itself for its multidisciplinary approach to
environmental and human health issues.
A leader in the field of wildlife toxicology,
Kendall is frequently consulted by foreign
countries on environmental issues. His
research has been supported by 138
grants totalling over 50 million dollars.
A prolific author with more than 200
refereed journal and technical articles as
well as books, Kendall is considered to
have played a leading role in the initiation
of the field of wildlife toxicology.
Among his many accomplishments, he
serves as an environmental advisor to
the United States Justice Department
and has addressed the United Nations
Committee on Sustainable Development.
The figures are stark. Consolidated UN FAO statistics on European wheat yields begin only 20 years after their initial introduction, but the impact is still evident. Between 1960 and 2008 wheat yields in Europe more than doubled from approximately 1.25 to 3.5 tons per hectare (FAO).
Growing resistance
However, fungicides’ likeness to antibiotics does not end there. Fungicides have been used widely and today European agriculture is heavily dependent on their extraordinary benefits. Just as bacteria have adapted successfully to some antibiotics, fungi in plants have evolved to fungicides and in recent years have developed significant resistance to many of the classes in use. Only the azole class, and particularly triazoles amongst them, are still considered to be highly reliable by farmers.
Meanwhile the investment and timescale required to develop new products is severe; not to mention uncertain given the EU’s switch to hazard based regulation. This leaves farmers with an ever smaller toolbox for fighting fungi effectively, threatening EU agricultural productivity.
The threat posed to yield levels by further EU regulation is very concerning given two facts; (a) the global population is nearly 40% larger than it was in 1950 and (b) the population of the world is predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050.
Environmental threats
New and emerging infectious disease is a regular media topic, with SARS and Asian Bird Flu being recent examples. Less well reported is the re-emergence of UG99, a devastating strain of the rust fungus that, thought to be extinct, has spread the length of Africa in less than a decade and now sits at the gateway to Asia and Europe.
Climate change is also causing major problems for farmers, who are being introduced to new crop diseases.
Finding a solution
As such EU regulation needs to be designed in a way that it ensures farmers have access to effective solutions for fighting crop disease.
In support of this opinion, a 2010 meeting of European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) – the intergovernmental organization - on Azole fungicides and Septoria leaf blotch control concluded that: “azoles are a major factor in the successful management of this and other important cereal diseases, and having a diversity of azoles available is considered important in managing this disease”.
For now farmers are doing everything in their power not to compromise azoles, by rotating them and mixing them with other fungicides. Resistance management has become a watchword, but they fear that the variety of the tools they have to work with may be reduced in the future due to ever more complex regulation.
Cereal production, utilization and stocks
Source: FAO
The spread of wheat stem rust UG99 lineage
Source: FAO
Did you know?
The European agriculture sector is worth 675 billion euros a year and employs more than 11.2 million people, equating to 14.2% of EU manufacturing export.
Cereals (258m tons) are the main crop grown in the EU.
The demand for wheat in the EU is expected to rise at a rate (21%) that cannot be supported by the expected rise in production (7%).
According to the UN FAO fungicides prevent losses estimated to be between 15 and 30% of global wheat harvests – equivalent to 44 billion loaves of bread, or the amount of bread consumed in Germany each year.
An EU ban of azoles would: B Create an annual EU welfare loss es-
timated to be between 4.4 billion and 5.6 billion USD that would be mainly borne by producers
B Reduce yields significantly (average = Germany 17%, UK 16%, France 23%)
B Result in the net EU trade position on wheat changing from an export of 8.7 million tonnes, to an import status of 9.6 million tonnes
Potato blight which caused the deaths of an estimated 1 million people during the Irish potato famine in 1845 is still a serious threat to harvests.
Wheat rust spreads as billions of spores in the wind. They move incrementally from field to field and need wet weather to thrive.
AgriculturAl DiAlogue 14 2 iNForMAtioN FroM tHe AgriculturAl iNDuStrY | octoBer 2011 3
1800
2000
2200
2400
Utilization
Production
Stocks
200
400
600
800
Milliontonnes
Milliontonnes
2011/12
2010/11
2009/10
2008/09
2007/08
2006/07
2005/06
2004/05
2003/04
2002/03
2001/02
Minimal risk, maximum rewardFollowing the implementation of the EU Regulation 1107/2009, pesticides (including fungicides) will - uniquely in EU regulation - be assessed on the basis of hazard rather than risk. Practically, a substance with characteristics that might require an additional label in other applications could well be banned for use in crop protection. Dr. Ronald Kendall (Texas Tech University), one of the world’s foremost experts on the toxicology, shares his opinion on fungicides, also commenting on the new assessment criteria.
After a thorough assessment of all the scientific literature, what is your opinion on the safety of fungicides?
Generally speaking, fungal diseases are extremely difficult to control in agriculture without chemical application. Fungicidal chemicals are derived from a variety of structures. These include simple inorganic compounds, such as copper sulfate, to complex organic compounds. Although the scientific literature is voluminous and complex regarding fungicide toxicology, generally speaking these crop protection products can be used safely and effectively under practical agricultural applications when used according to the label and applied by trained professionals.
What is the toxicological profile of fungicides?
With few exceptions, fungicides have relatively low acute toxicity in mammals. However, some have historically produced positive results in genotoxicity tests and, if such effects were demonstrated, many of these products have been regulated out of use.
What are the dosage limits when looking at commercially sold fungicides and how does this relate to human health?
Generally speaking, a fungicide is applied as a formulation which includes an active ingredient that is mixed with inert ingredients to enhance application. Therefore, the commercial formulation of a fungicide is not 100% active ingredient. When one considers the general commercial
About Dr. Ronald Kendall
Dr. Ronald Kendall is the founder and
director of the Institute of Environmental
and Human Health at Texas Tech
University as well as the founding chair and
professor of the university’s Department
of Environmental Toxicology. Since
1997, the Institute of Environmental and
Human Health (IEHH) has distinguished
itself for its multidisciplinary approach to
environmental and human health issues.
A leader in the field of wildlife toxicology,
Kendall is frequently consulted by foreign
countries on environmental issues. His
research has been supported by 138
grants totalling over 50 million dollars.
A prolific author with more than 200
refereed journal and technical articles as
well as books, Kendall is considered to
have played a leading role in the initiation
of the field of wildlife toxicology.
Among his many accomplishments, he
serves as an environmental advisor to
the United States Justice Department
and has addressed the United Nations
Committee on Sustainable Development.
The figures are stark. Consolidated UN FAO statistics on European wheat yields begin only 20 years after their initial introduction, but the impact is still evident. Between 1960 and 2008 wheat yields in Europe more than doubled from approximately 1.25 to 3.5 tons per hectare (FAO).
Growing resistance
However, fungicides’ likeness to antibiotics does not end there. Fungicides have been used widely and today European agriculture is heavily dependent on their extraordinary benefits. Just as bacteria have adapted successfully to some antibiotics, fungi in plants have evolved to fungicides and in recent years have developed significant resistance to many of the classes in use. Only the azole class, and particularly triazoles amongst them, are still considered to be highly reliable by farmers.
Meanwhile the investment and timescale required to develop new products is severe; not to mention uncertain given the EU’s switch to hazard based regulation. This leaves farmers with an ever smaller toolbox for fighting fungi effectively, threatening EU agricultural productivity.
The threat posed to yield levels by further EU regulation is very concerning given two facts; (a) the global population is nearly 40% larger than it was in 1950 and (b) the population of the world is predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050.
Environmental threats
New and emerging infectious disease is a regular media topic, with SARS and Asian Bird Flu being recent examples. Less well reported is the re-emergence of UG99, a devastating strain of the rust fungus that, thought to be extinct, has spread the length of Africa in less than a decade and now sits at the gateway to Asia and Europe.
Climate change is also causing major problems for farmers, who are being introduced to new crop diseases.
Finding a solution
As such EU regulation needs to be designed in a way that it ensures farmers have access to effective solutions for fighting crop disease.
In support of this opinion, a 2010 meeting of European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) – the intergovernmental organization - on Azole fungicides and Septoria leaf blotch control concluded that: “azoles are a major factor in the successful management of this and other important cereal diseases, and having a diversity of azoles available is considered important in managing this disease”.
For now farmers are doing everything in their power not to compromise azoles, by rotating them and mixing them with other fungicides. Resistance management has become a watchword, but they fear that the variety of the tools they have to work with may be reduced in the future due to ever more complex regulation.
Cereal production, utilization and stocks
Source: FAO
The spread of wheat stem rust UG99 lineage
Source: FAO
AgriculturAl DiAlogue 14
iNForMAtioN FroM tHe AgriculturAl iNDuStrY | OCTOBER 2011
iMPriNt
www.agro.basf.com
BASF SE
Agricultural Center Limburgerhof
AP/K - LI555
67117 Limburgerhof
Germany
Rainer von Mielecki
AP/K – Public/Government Affairs
Phone: +49 (0) 621 / 60-27 511
Fax: +49 (0) 621 / 60-27 512
Curtailing the cure?EU agriculture plays a vital role in ensuring food security and driving our economy. In their attempt to supply enough healthy and high-quality food, farmers face a constant threat from crop disease. Since the 1940s fungicides have enabled farmers to prevent and treat diseases, but potential Regulation that could reduce access to these important tools looks likely to have a dramatic impact.
Illness is not only a human condition. Agricultural crops are vulnerable to deadly fungal and viral infections including Septoria tritici, Fusarium, Rust, Powdery mildew and Eyespot. In Europe fungi have traditionally been the more prevalent threat to arable crops, and have proven devastating if left untreated – destroying up to 40% of the total harvest.
Fungicides, like antibiotics in human healthcare, revolutionised disease treatment. Their introduction in the 1940s prompted the start of the green revolution; an ongoing period of marked agricultural yield increases. In addition to dramatically reducing yield losses from illness, fungicides enable the cultivation of high yield varieties that would otherwise be susceptible to disease.
AgriculturAl DiAlogue 14 iNForMAtioN FroM tHe AgriculturAl iNDuStrY | octoBer 2011 4
eDitoriAl
Dear Readers,
The contribution of fungicides to EU agriculture is often overlooked. Since the 1940’s they have enabled the transition to high yield crop varieties, improving access to healthy and affordable food.
Increasing incidence of plant disease, driven by climate change, means that today’s farmers rely on fungicides more than ever. Concerns persist however that regulation could limit access to these products resulting in over-reliance on a very limited set of solutions, quickly leading to resistance.
This edition of the Agricultural Dialogue takes a closer look at the pressing need for resistance management, the socio-economic contribution of fungicides, and the science on their safety. We are fortunate to have the insight of two of the foremost global experts in this fi eld, Prof. Dr. Michael Schmitz (Institute of Agribusiness, University of Giessen) and Dr. Ronald Kendall (Texas Tech University).
Markus HeldtPresident, Crop Protection Division, BASF SE
applications of fungicides, the release of the active ingredient is generally relatively low, which means a reduced level of exposure for humans. Since one of the basic tenants of toxicology is “the dose makes the poison”, low levels of human exposure to the active ingredients in fungicides are preferred.
As a leading toxicologist what do you think about the ongoing debate in the EU about the endocrine disruptors, especially with reference to fungicides?
There is a great deal of controversy and debate on just the defi nition of an endocrine disruptor, much less the science needed to understand the relevance of endocrine disruption in terms of human health and the environment. In general, the emerging scientifi c area of endocrine disruptors will take a great deal of work to defi ne and validate the tests needed to determine relevant endocrine endpoints that can be interpreted to protect human health in the environment.
Does the recent conversion to hazard based assessment of fungicides make this debate disproportionately threatening to crop health?
If one just addresses a hazard based assessment of fungicides without considering “dose”, this discounts one of the basic tenants in toxicology and that being “dose makes the poison”. Therefore, in the science of risk assessment, one needs to consider in addition to hazard an incorporated exposure assessment, in other words “dose”. Also, oftentimes high-dose tests are used in hazard identifi cation yet the approved agricultural uses, which are effective in pest management, involve much lower concentrations of the fungicide. Therefore, the ultimate net effect of using hazard-based assessments could be to put crop health at risk while overcompensating for human health protection.
There appears to be disagreement amongst experts on the safety of available fungicides. Can you explain what lies behind this difference of opinion?
If one just considers high-dose laboratory experiments for the identifi cation of toxic effects from pesticides, such as fungicides, then one is probably not getting the whole picture related to exposure and effects. As an environmental toxicologist, my view is that we must take laboratory data and then consider environmentally realistic exposure scenarios when we are evaluating dose response and conducting a risk assessment.
Prof. Dr. Michael Schmitz is recognized as a global expert on the impacts of EU and international agricultural policy. He is the founder and di-rector of the Institute of Agribusiness located in Giessen, Germany. He currently teaches at the Institute of Agricultural
Policy and Market Research of the University of Giessen. Prof. Dr. Schmitz is Member of the Scientifi c Advisory Board on Agriculture Policy at the German Agriculture Ministry.
How important are azoles to crop protection and what action would you propose to pro-tect EU crop yields? “We access the future im-portance of azoles very favorably. In our opinion they are not replaceable and have the highest impact on plant health and yields with regard to resistance management, curative action and broad spectrum. Our results show that farmers and technical experts in UK, France and Ger-many would fi nd it very diffi cult to combat fu-sarium and septoria tritici without azole-based products and there is a strong consensus among all countries that restriction of azoles would have disastrous impacts on resistance management; becoming extremely diffi cult or almost impossible, especially in the case of septoria.
Restriction of azoles would have a strong im-pact on disease control due to missing curative effects, higher costs, more time consuming and strongly limited treatment possibilities. Disease levels would be much higher due to poor and unreliable control of core diseases, and an ina-bility to eradicate established diseases.
Our analysis shows the importance of maintai-ning as broad a spectrum of plant protection products as possible to avoid the growth of disease resistance. The azoles are important because of their curative as well as protective properties. Maintaining access for farmers will reduce the pressure to increase more than pro-portionately usage of other, less effective, subs-titutes.”
Prof. Dr. Schmitz headed a joint research study between Trinity College Dublin and the Institute of Agribusiness published in April 2011, entit-led: “Restricted avai-lability of azole based fungicides: impacts on EU farmers and crop agriculture” http://www.agribusiness.de/images/stories/pdf/iab_nr_27_triazole.pdf
lability of azole based
http://www.agribusiness.de/
Sou
rce:
Cro
pLife