Corteva Agriscience has announced that it’s dropping chlorpyrifos from its portfolio by the end of 2020. The active ingredient is known under the brand name Lorsban.

Susanne Wasson, president of the crop protection division said, “Demand for one of our long-standing products, chlorpyrifos, has declined significantly over the last two decades, particularly in the U.S.  Due to this reduced demand, Corteva has made the strategic business decision to phase out our production of chlorpyrifos in 2020.”

The California Environmental Protection Agency had already severely curtailed usage, banning aerial spraying and requiring quarter-mile buffer zones and had secured agreement to end all product sales in the state by February 2020. 

The pure-play agriscience company came into being after a merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont. Chlorpyrifos was a legacy product of Dow Chemical which patented the active ingredient in 1966. In Corteva’s fiscal year ending December 31, 2019, the company reported $13.8 billion in net sales, down three per cent versus the previous year, driven by currency.

Source:  Reuters February 6, 2020