Pesticide use in cotton declines globally

Application of pesticides and chemicals in cotton fields have fallen in recent years due to inflation after witnessing a surge in sales from $ 2.6 bn in 1999 to $ 3 bn in 2009, according to three new reports released by International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) Expert Panel on Social, Environmental and Economic Performance of Cotton Production (SEEP).

The use of pesticides on cotton peaked in the 1990s when cotton accounted for about 20% of all insecticides used in agriculture. (Insecticides are a subset of pesticides, which include herbicides, fungicides and others.) Because of the implementation of Integrated Pest Management programs and the use of biotechnology, cotton’s share of world insecticide sales had fallen to 14% by 2009.

Agriculture accounts for about three-fourths of human water consumption, and cotton production accounts for about 3% of the volume of water used for global crop production, proportional to cotton’s share of world arable land use. The amount of energy required in cotton production varies primarily because of differences in yields and the use of irrigation. Energy efficiency in cotton production ranges from a high of 0.071 kilograms of fiber per megajoule to 0.016 kilograms per megajoule in countries studied. However, when the energy contained in cottonseed is considered, many cotton production systems are energy neutral to energy positive.

An estimated 110 million households produce cotton in more than 80 countries. When family labor, hired labor and employment in ancillary industries such as transportation, ginning and warehousing are included, total employment in the cotton industry reaches more than 200 million each season.

Related reports

Fact sheet on production efficiency and energy usage in cotton production

Fact sheet on pesticide use in cotton production

Survey of cotton labor cost components in major producing countries