Background
The Crop Protection Association (CPA) describes itself as โthe voice of the UK plant science industryโ. The group was previously called the British Agrochemicals Association when it was formed in 1979 before changing its name in 2000. 1โWhat We Do,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IuwTv 2โCrop Protection Association Ltd,โ Companies House. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pb7pK
The organisation is made up of โ23 member companies representing 96% of the UK marketโ, according to its website. The Crop Protection Associationโs members include the โbig fiveโ agribusiness companies: BASF, Bayer, Corteva Agriscience, Syngenta and FMC.3โWho We Are,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/oDGer
It argues that to combat climate change, farmers must be as productive as possible on the land, promoting the use of pesticides to aid this.4โ2019 General Election – Crop Protection Association Mini-Manifesto,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
Stance on Climate Change
In a February 2020 letter published on CPAโs website responding to a Guardian column calling for a reform of industry-funded studies by Carey Gillam from non-profit investigative research group US Right To Know, then Chief Executive of CPA Sarah Mukherjee said: โTo help fight climate change, we aim to be as productive as possible on the land we have.โ She said this is done through the use of crop protection products as โfarmers can maximise the productivity of existing farmland resulting in more land for nature.โ5โLetter to the Editor โ Science Shouldnโt Be For Sale,โ Crop Protection Association, February 20, 2020. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/YlSIY 6Carey Gillam. โScience Shouldnโt Be For Sale โ We Need Reform to Industry-Funded Studies to Keep People Safe,โ The Guardian, February 18, 2020. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DC8iJ
CPA published a โMini Manifestoโ in 2019, in which the group outlined its policy priorities for the next government before the 2019 general election. CPA argued that pesticides are needed to fight climate change to allow them to use less land for farming, leaving more land for nature. It says: โTo help fight climate change, government must develop policy which allows us to be as productive as possible on land currently under cultivation. By using crop protection products, farmers can maximise the productivity of existing farmland, resulting in more land being spared for nature.โ7โ2019 General Election – Crop Protection Association Mini-Manifesto,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
In the document, CPA called for the government policy to โstrike a balance between protecting and enhancing the environment and supporting productive agriculture in the UKโ which it says should include promoting โthe role of technology and science providing solutions that meet this aim.โ8โ2019 General Election – Crop Protection Association Mini-Manifesto,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
Agricultural giant Bayer references on its website a study by Cranfield University on the contribution of crop protection to greenhouse gas emissions. According to Bayer the study โconcluded that for one kilo of CO2 equivalent invested in the manufacture and use of pesticides, at least 10kg of CO2 is removed from the atmosphere as a result of yield increases attributed to that pesticide use.โ The study was commissioned for the Crop Protection Association and published in August 2009.9โCrop Protection and Climate Change,โ Bayer CropScience. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DcqlH 10E. Audsley, K. Stacey, D.J. Parsons, A.G. Williams. โEstimation Of The Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Agricultural Pesticide Manufacture and Use,โ Cranfield University, August 2009. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
A report published on CPAโs website states that: โWe stand on the threshold of the Fourth Agricultural Revolutionโ. It argues that science and agriculture technological advances โwill ensure a supply of plentiful, affordable food, whilst reducing the impact on the environment and leaving space for natureโ โ a key argument of proponents of digital and precision agriculture.11โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
The report goes on to say: โThe challenge for UK farmers will be to produce increasing quantities of nutritious and healthy food, while at the same time making significant environmental gains including improving soils, saving water and reducing carbon emissions.โ12โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
โThere are hugely exciting new developments in science and technology which can help make this vision a reality,โ it adds.13โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
One of the techniques the report suggests is โprecision applicationโ of pesticides, which aims to target only specific parts of the field. CPA says that this method โreduces the amount of pesticide which is used and thus slows the development of resistance in pests.โ14โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
Read more: Digital and Precision Agriculture โ Criticisms and Concerns
The report also says that โreducing the amount of tillage has benefits not only in reducing the compaction of the soil by heavy machinery but in reducing carbon emissions from farm equipmentโ โ a key aspect of regenerative agriculture.15โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
CPA suggests the use of plant breeding to make crops more resistant to drought and disease. It says developments in plant breeding โare essential to improve yields and make crops more resilient to the impact of climate change.โ16โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
Role in Pesticides Controversy
CPA describes pesticides as โa fundamental part of modern food productionโ, but acknowledges that the use of pesticides โoften divides opinion and is subject to a great deal of misunderstanding.โ17โWhat We Do,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IuwTv
CPA is a strong supporter of glyphosate. Glyphosate is the world’s most widely used weed killer which the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer said in 2015 was โprobably carcinogenic to humansโ but was re-approved for use by the EU in 2017.18โGlyphosate,โ Pesticide Action Network. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/AparD
Responding to glyphosate litigation in the US, CPA published a press release saying that glyphosate โis, and always has been safe.โ In the press release, CPA says โfar too many of us know just how awful a diagnosis of cancer can be and we would not in any way wish to diminish how terrible this must be for those suffering from this disease.โ And argues that โthose with an ideological opposition to pesticides should not use this case to further their agendas by misrepresenting the science.โ19โCPA Statement on Glyphosate Litigation in the US,โ Crop Protection Association, August 13, 2018. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/GgnwD
CPA celebrated glyphosate being re-approved for use for five years by the EU in 2017. Then CPA CEO Sarah Mukherjee said that the loss of glyphosate would have โcaused significant damage to the economy, the environment and the agricultural sector.โ Mukherjee argues that the โpoliticisationโ of the re-approval โsets a worrying precedent for the future of crop protection and sustainable farming in Europe.โ20โCPA Statement on Glyphosate Litigation in the US,โ Crop Protection Association, August 13, 2018. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/GgnwD
In January 2020, the US Environmental Protection Agency released a statement that said the EPA has concluded that โthere are no risks of concern to human health when glyphosate is used according to the label and that it is not a carcinogen.โ21โEPA Finalises Glyphosate Mitigation,โ US Environmental Protection Agency, January 30. 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/iyvPB
A joint report from 2014 by CPA, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), and the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), claimed that over-regulation of pesticides was โstarting to affect our ability to grow crops now and in the immediate futureโ which โstifles, rather than embraces, progressive innovationโ.22โHealthy Harvest โ the impact of losing plant protection products on UK food,โ Crop Protection Association, National Farmers Union and Agricultural Industries Confederation. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
The frequent claims made by both the CPA and the NFU that pesticide usage has halved since 1990 is โmisleadingโ, according to Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK), which says it โrefers to the weight of the pesticides used and ignores the strength of toxicity, which is significantly higher than that used in the 1990sโ.23Catherine Early. โCampaigners accuse farming lobby of misleading public over pesticides,โ The Ecologist, April 4, 2018. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/YqPAp
Funding
The CPA had net assets of ยฃ589,633 in 2019, according to its annual report.24โCrop Protection Association UK Ltd – Filing History,โ Companies House. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/SjljS
Lobbying
CPA was last registered on the EUโs lobbying database in March 2019. Its disclosure showed it had one person working on EU lobbying on a part-time basis, with lobbying costs of less than โฌ9,999. In 2014, it had four people working on EU lobbying, with lobbying costs of less than โฌ50,000.25โCrop Protection Association (CPA),โ LobbyFactsEU. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/GeB3x
The CPA and the NFU met with George Eustice, UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in February 2020 to discuss crop protection products, according to transparency data published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).26โMinisterial Meetings, January to March 2020,โ DEFRA, July 30, 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/PIfwJ
In a 2014 Q and A by Farmers Weekly, Nick von Westenholz, then CPA chief executive, said that there was โa lot of lobbying and involvement in consultationโ regarding challenging EU pesticide regulations. He added: โintensive lobbying from us and our European allies resulted in the officials pausing and putting proper thought into the guidance.โ27Nick von Westenholz. โCPA Chief on Fight to Keep Crop Protection Tools,โ Farmers Weekly. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DxPTr
Affiliations
CPA’s ‘Agriculture and Horticulture’ members are:28โWho We Are,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/oDGer
- Adama
- BASF
- Bayer Crop Science
- Belchim Crop Protection
- Certis
- Corteva
- De Sangosse
- Fine Agrochemicals
- FMC Agricultural Solutions
- Gemini Agriculture
- Gowan Crop Protection
- Nichino Europe
- Nufarm
- Sumitomo Chemical (UK) Plc
- Syngenta
- UPL OpenAg
CPA is an associate member of the European Crop Protection Association, and a member of CropLife International.29โMembers,โ CropLife International. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/PSOBu
CPA is one of nine members of the Agri-Brexit Coalition, a group which aims to โbring together the expertise of this particular sector of UK agriculture as Brexit negotiations progressโ, according to its website. The group says its purpose is to โinform and influence UK Governments in order to achieve a positive outcome to negotiations for UK Agriculture as well as the EU and the wider world.”30โAbout,โ Agri-Brexit Coalition. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pdxkZ
The groupโs five aims are: Seeking a fair trading position for UK agriculture across Europe and beyond; delivering innovation; raising productivity and delivering economic benefit; creating practical solutions to policy and regulation; and helping to deliver a modern, resilient UK agriculture.31โAbout,โ Agri-Brexit Coalition. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pdxkZ
The other members of the Agri-Brexit Coalition are:32โAbout,โ Agri-Brexit Coalition. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pdxkZ
- Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA)
- Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC)
- British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB)
- Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV)
- Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA)
- International Meat Trade Association (IMTA)
- National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC)
- National Office of Animal Health (NOAH)
Other Resources
Resources
- 1โWhat We Do,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IuwTv
- 2โCrop Protection Association Ltd,โ Companies House. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pb7pK
- 3โWho We Are,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/oDGer
- 4โ2019 General Election – Crop Protection Association Mini-Manifesto,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 5โLetter to the Editor โ Science Shouldnโt Be For Sale,โ Crop Protection Association, February 20, 2020. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/YlSIY
- 6Carey Gillam. โScience Shouldnโt Be For Sale โ We Need Reform to Industry-Funded Studies to Keep People Safe,โ The Guardian, February 18, 2020. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DC8iJ
- 7โ2019 General Election – Crop Protection Association Mini-Manifesto,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 8โ2019 General Election – Crop Protection Association Mini-Manifesto,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 9โCrop Protection and Climate Change,โ Bayer CropScience. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DcqlH
- 10E. Audsley, K. Stacey, D.J. Parsons, A.G. Williams. โEstimation Of The Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Agricultural Pesticide Manufacture and Use,โ Cranfield University, August 2009. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 11โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 12โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 13โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 14โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 15โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 16โAgriculture 4.0 โ The Next Agricultural Revolution,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 17โWhat We Do,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IuwTv
- 18โGlyphosate,โ Pesticide Action Network. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/AparD
- 19โCPA Statement on Glyphosate Litigation in the US,โ Crop Protection Association, August 13, 2018. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/GgnwD
- 20โCPA Statement on Glyphosate Litigation in the US,โ Crop Protection Association, August 13, 2018. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/GgnwD
- 21โEPA Finalises Glyphosate Mitigation,โ US Environmental Protection Agency, January 30. 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/iyvPB
- 22โHealthy Harvest โ the impact of losing plant protection products on UK food,โ Crop Protection Association, National Farmers Union and Agricultural Industries Confederation. Archived November 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 23Catherine Early. โCampaigners accuse farming lobby of misleading public over pesticides,โ The Ecologist, April 4, 2018. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/YqPAp
- 24โCrop Protection Association UK Ltd – Filing History,โ Companies House. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/SjljS
- 25โCrop Protection Association (CPA),โ LobbyFactsEU. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/GeB3x
- 26โMinisterial Meetings, January to March 2020,โ DEFRA, July 30, 2020. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/PIfwJ
- 27Nick von Westenholz. โCPA Chief on Fight to Keep Crop Protection Tools,โ Farmers Weekly. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DxPTr
- 28โWho We Are,โ Crop Protection Association. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/oDGer
- 29โMembers,โ CropLife International. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/PSOBu
- 30โAbout,โ Agri-Brexit Coalition. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pdxkZ
- 31โAbout,โ Agri-Brexit Coalition. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pdxkZ
- 32โAbout,โ Agri-Brexit Coalition. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pdxkZ