Without phytosanitaries, agro-food production would be drastically reduced by up to 50%, and it would be impossible to ensure the food needs of present and future populations, according to Carlos Vergel, president of the Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Técnicos Agrícolas (COITAND). During the inagural day of the 14th Symposium on Plant Health, held in Seville from 25th to 27th January. Vergel regretted that a restrictive approach in Community legislation is making it difficult to register and use new products, although plant health is a key part of agricultural production. For its part, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Carmen Ortiz, has ensured that the Andalusian Government is working to promote plant health through aid to the Operational Groups of Innovation.

The company John Deere maintains its leadership and stability in business, despite the global recession of the agricultural sector and the unstable construction machinery market, which have led to a reduction of its sales and, consequently, of its profits during 2016, which totaled $ 1,524 million, of which 285 were in the last quarter. The slight decrease in sales volumes is expected to reach $ 1.4 billion by 2017.

The progressive introduction of methods of control or biological protection of crops has contributed to a significant decline in the use of pesticides and other chemical agents in agriculture, which has decreased worldwide by 50 to 90 percent in the last fifty years.