Where are the new crop protection products?
A Bayer CropScience leader weighs in on hurdles to new product development Posted: May 5, 2009 Growing international regulations and the need to please an increasing number of stakeholders are some of the key challenges to getting new crop protection products into the hands of farmers, says a representative of one of the world’s largest pesticide manufacturers. At the most recent Canadian Weed Science Society meeting, Dr. Iain Kelly, product safety manager with Bayer CropScience, outlined the key hurdles to new product development, among them the need to introduce new modes of action at a time of restrictive regulatory systems. On a global basis, approximately six fungicide targets, six herbicide targets and three insecticide targets account for more than 75 percent of market share. “We’re really dominating the market with few modes of action,” says Kelly. “Certainly, as an industry, we believe there is a need for innovation to look for new modes of action and ones with favourable prof
