The trading and use of agrochemicals

The use of synthetic chemicals has revolutionized agriculture, bringing at the same time huge gains in the form of increased food yields and many significant problems arising from the toxic nature of many of the formulations. The global demand for greater quantities and a certain standard of food has continued to encourage agrochemical use at the same time as the health, safety and environmental sustainability of doing so has brought this ever more into question. Principles of agroecology have come to inform agrochemical use, but the prioritization of traditional over sustainable development in many countries and the perceived complexity of alternative strategies for improving crop yields have limited this shift mainly to the Global North. This review covers the rise of agrochemicals, assesses the costs and benefits of their production, use and trade and then describes and evaluates international political responses to the dilemmas that they pose to humanity