The Power of Synthetic Organic Chemistry in Agrochemical Discovery

Abstract

In recent years, food demand has been growing due to the expansion of global population and the economic development of emerging countries. Considering limited land resource, agrochemicals are indispensable for stable food production. In Japan, agrochemicals have become even more valuable as a labor-saving tool because Japan suffers from low self-sufficiency of the food and decreasing agricultural population.

Under these circumstances, global agrochemical sales have doubled and reached approximately $60 billion in the last ten years. Regardless of the large market value, agrochemical research and development (R&D) process is rarely reported, while pharmaceutical counterpart is well known. Although agrochemical and pharmaceutical R&D processes share a lot in common, some challenges are characteristic to agrochemical discovery. In this article, I will outline the agrochemical R&D process and give insights into a role of organic synthesis in agrochemical discovery.