Cultivating a vibrant Canadian economy
Canadian farmers have access to innovative tools like pesticides and plant biotechnology that allow them to grow more food while protecting our planet and driving the economy. Not only do these tools create value for farmers – $7.9 billion worth every year – they also create value in a host of other industries. Thanks to pest control products and plant biotech, processors, shippers, manufacturers and many others in the value chain benefit from an additional $6.4 billion annually.
Did you know…
- 32% of Canada’s $20 billion worth of field crops would not exist without pesticides and plant biotechnology.
- 65% of Canada’s $550 million worth of vegetable crops would not have been produced without crop protection products.
- 68% of Canada’s $740 million worth of fruit crops would not have been produced without pesticides.
- The economic activity created through quality and yield enhancements driven by pesticides and plant biotech leads to 97,000 full-time jobs across Canada.
- 171 million litres less diesel fuel is being burned every year in Canada because of conservation tillage practices enabled in part through plant biotechnology and pesticides.
Learn more about the value created by pesticides and plant biotechnology and how they contribute to the Canadian economy, the environment, fruit and vegetable crops, field crops, and specific regions.
Download the full Cultivating a vibrant Canada report.
Today’s farmers have access to tools that enable them to farm sustainably, feed our growing population and contribute to Canada’s economic prosperity. Crop protection products and plant biotechnology are two of these tools. They offer solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges - from climate change, food security and water shortages to the need for new, clean energy sources. The value of these innovations to farmers is undeniable, but more impressive is their impact on Canadians across the country and their contribution to the economy as a whole.
Increased yields that result from the use of crop protection products and plant biotechnology do more than improve the bottom line for farmers, they stimulate economic activity that ripples through the entire Canadian economy. Take this for example: for every tonne of wheat a farmer produces and sells, work is generated for bakers, janitors, accountants and delivery personnel to name just a few.
As the world population has risen, so too has the demand for food. Thanks in part to crop protection products and plant biotechnology, Canadian farmers have been able to produce enough food to meet the growing demand without significantly increasing the amount of land they cultivate. The result has been countless important natural wildlife habitats left intact.
Vegetable crops face intense pressures from diseases like mildews and botrytis and insects like aphids and caterpillars. This, coupled with the fact that consumers have a low tolerance for physical blemishes on their veggies, means that pest damage can have huge implications. Often a single pest or disease can make an entire crop unsaleable.
The largest 29 vegetable crops in Canada have an annual value of about $550 million – about $360 million of which wouldn’t exist if farmers didn’t have access to crop protection tools.
Crop protection products and plant biotechnology have helped significantly increase the yields and quality of Canada’s cereal, oilseeds, pulse (beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas) and special crops. But what does this mean for farmers – and Canadians as a whole? The net value created from the use of crop protection products and plant biotechnology tools in 16 of Canada’s major field crops each year is more than $6.4 billion.
It’s clear that Canada as a whole benefits enormously from the use of crop protection and plant biotechnology tools - they create $7.9 billion worth of additional value for farmers every year - but in each individual region, there are unique success stories.
