Insecticide/Pesticide Sector

Plant protection products (insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, plant growth regulators) make up a significant part of the German economy, with gross exports of $3.91B in 2020. In fact, Germany is one of the leaders in the insecticide industry, with corporate giants like Bayer, BASF, Syngenta, Corteva Agrisciences, and Adama Agricultural Solutions exporting tens of thousands of tons yearly, despite the ban on many pesticides in the EU. With this ban, many have criticized the German insecticide industry as causing uneven damage to the Global South, as most of the German products are banned from entering the Global North due to hazard risk.

After WWII, especially in Europe, the agriculture industry struggled to feed the large amounts of the population that needed food. Chemical weapon research in both the United States and Germany had grown substantially during the war, and these companies pivoted to apply their research to domestic markets in agriculture post-war. It was during the so-called “Pesticide Era” of the 1940s and 50s when synthetic pesticide use became widespread. Prior to this, pesticides were largely arsenic based. Insecticides became a quick way to target the insects and weeds that were limiting agricultural production. Germany was an especially large player in the pesticide industry with its powerful chemical companies such as BASF SE and Bayer AG — companies that still lead in the global crop protection chemical market.

Because pesticides were quickly implemented in agricultural production to feed starving populations, considerations of the negative effects of these chemicals were not prioritized at the time. The need to increase production outweighed the potential for insect resistance, environmental damage, residue accumulation, and threats to human and wildlife. Since the boom in pesticide use, opposition to its use has grown for these exact reasons. The EU has banned certain pesticides that are harmful to plants, animals, soil, water, humans, and biodiversity. Similarly, Germany has plans to ban exports of hazardous insecticides this spring. Though many support the end to harmful chemicals, others warn that this ban will only make corporations relocate outside Germany and Europe, and harm new environments with pesticide production and sales.