Celebrating sixty years of advocacy and achievement of the plant science industry

    14 September 2015

    Today, CropLife Australia marks sixty years of advocacy and achievement, representing the best of the plant science sector as its peak industry organisation.

    “It was on this day in 1955 that CropLife Australia officially commenced as the Association for Agricultural Chemical Manufacturers of Australia and has continually operated since then as the peak organisation for the plant science industry,” said Lachlan McKinnon, President of the Board of CropLife Australia.

    “It marks sixty years of CropLife Australia acting as a strong voice for the plant science sector, for farmers and for the nation’s agricultural sector.”

    “It is an appropriate time to reflect on the significant contribution to Australia’s agricultural sector that CropLife Australia and its members have made through advocacy and world-class industry stewardship.”

    “The plant science industry underpins more than $18 billion of agricultural production for the Australian economy, employs thousands of people across the country, and plays a crucial role in the productivity, sustainability and food security of Australia’s farming sector.”

    “CropLife’s member companies have continued to be at the forefront of innovation in modern agriculture and have expanded to include agriculture biotechnologies such as genetically modified (GM) crops. Australian farmers have embraced these new innovations for their well-established environmental and productivity benefits.”

    “The work of CropLife is crucial because of how important our member companies’ work is to the nation’s farmers. CropLife has a tradition of constructively working with both sides of politics and federal and state levels to ensure our industry is able to continue to support Australia’s farming effort.”

    “CropLife has always advocated for independent, scientific evidence-based regulation. This advocacy has earned CropLife its place as a trusted partner, working collaboratively across the agriculture industry to help deliver good public policy initiatives and regulatory environments.”

    “CropLife Australia’s members have always shown a genuine commitment to thought leadership and industry stewardship, contributing millions of dollars each year to world-class whole-of-lifecycle industry stewardship programs to ensure the highest standards of safety and environmental stewardship of our industry’s products.”

    “CropLife members originally established and funded the highly successful stewardship initiatives of the drumMUSTER and ChemClear programs. Our Resistance Management Strategies and the Pollinator Protection Initiative, which includes the internationally recognised, world-first smart phone app BeeConnected, are examples of this ongoing commitment.”

    “With a rapidly growing world population, limited arable land and a changing climate, the importance of the plant science industry will only increase as Australian farmers position themselves to meet these challenges and take advantage of the opportunities, equipped and assisted by the innovations in modern agriculture.”

    “It is undeniable that what is good for farmers is good for the nation. That’s why CropLife Australia has proudly represented the innovators, developers, manufacturers, formulators and registrants of crop protection and ag biotechnology products in the plant science industry for sixty years as they help farmers sustainably produce affordable, high quality food, feed and fibre for the world.“