4 June 2026, 11 am GMT
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Agriculture in Africa and the Middle East operates at the intersection of food security imperatives, environmental stewardship, and increasingly polarised public debate. Agricultural journalists are confronted daily with a flood of claims, campaigns, and narratives that do not always reflect scientific consensus or regional realities.
CropLife Africa Middle East (CL AME) firmly believes that science- and risk-based decision-making must guide both agricultural policy and public communication. Crop protection products are essential tools in the pursuit of food security, enabling farmers to protect their harvests from pests, diseases, and weeds. Yet these tools are frequently the target of coordinated misinformation campaigns that misrepresent the science, exploit emotional narratives, and draw false equivalences.
According to FAO, “up to 40% of global food crops are lost due to plant pests annually, yet these losses rarely capture public attention the way human pandemics do”. A recurring example is the debate around Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs). CL AME regularly engages on this topic, countering the false narrative of a “double standard” between pesticide use in developed and developing countries. In reality, risk-based, locally contextualized regulatory assessments – accounting for climate, exposure conditions, available alternatives, and food security needs – are the cornerstone of responsible pest management. Blanket bans, disconnected from this scientific framework, can have severe unintended consequences.
The Webinar Aims To
- Demonstrate how CropLife AME commits to and supports science- and risk-based decision-making in crop protection.
- Explain what crop protection products are, why they matter, and their essential role in achieving food security.
- Provide a detailed case study on Highly Hazardous Pesticides: debunking the “double standard” narrative, the importance of local risk-based assessments, and the evidence on human health, pollinator health, and soil health.
- Illustrate, through concrete examples, the consequences of blanket HHP bans on farmers and food security in the AME region.
Agenda
- Opening & Welcome – by Margaux Rundstadler, Director Public Affairs & Communications, CropLife AME
- CropLife AME’s approach to sustainable agriculture: promoting science and risk-based decision-making for an agriculture that protects human health and the environment, while increasing agricultural productivity – by Stella Simiyu, CEO, CropLife AME
- The case of Highly Hazardous Pesticides: separating fact from fiction – by Dr. Eliza Lockwood, Medical Affairs Lead, Senior Science Fellow, Bayer
- On the ground: Farmer perspectives and real-world consequences – by Farmer Representative, AME region (name TBC)
- Discussion, Questions & Answers – By Sonya Kayani, Regional Communications and Public Affairs Lead Middle East & Africa, Syngenta
- Closing
Key Takeaways for Journalists
- A clear understanding of CropLife AME’s science- and risk-based approach to crop protection.
- Factual grounding on the HHP debate — including the science on human health (and so-called ‘double standard’), pollinator health, and soil health
- Real-world evidence of the consequences of policy decisions not grounded in science.
