Agrochemical

Agrichemical typically refers to biocides (pesticides including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and nematicides) alongside synthetic fertilizers.

[5] Agrochemicals, especially when improperly used or released in local environments, have led to a number of public health and environmental issues.

[6][3] Following the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, increased global attention has been paid to these ecological impacts of certain classes of chemicals, both in terms of effects on ecosystems and biodiversity loss.

Many countries have severely limited aerial application of pesticides and other products because of environmental and public health hazards like spray drift; most notably, the European Union banned it outright with a few highly restricted exceptions in 2009,[16] effectively ending the practice in all member states.

Many agrochemicals are toxic, and agrichemicals in bulk storage may pose significant environmental and/or health risks, particularly in the event of accidental spills.

For instance, bovine somatotropin, though widely used in the United States, is not approved in Canada and some other jurisdictions as there are concerns for the health of cows using it.

The unintended consequences of pesticides is one of the main drivers of the negative impact of modern industrial agriculture on the environment.

[19] Alternatives to heavy use of pesticides, such as integrated pest management, and sustainable agriculture techniques such as polyculture mitigate these consequences, without the harmful toxic chemical application.

Additionally, the Chinese from about 3200 years ago used mercury and arsenic compounds to control the body lice.

Based on a statistics by statistica, In 2019, the agrochemical market worldwide was worth approximately $234.2 billion.