An event co-organised with the Geneva Graduate Institute in the framework of research project 'Chemical Crossroads: Agrarian Transitions, Pesticide Controversies and International Governance, 1940-1970'
In the decades following World War Two, the use of chemicals in agriculture (natural and synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, disinfectants, etc.) dramatically increased in many parts of the world. In the 1950s and 1960s, these substances became central to visions of agricultural modernisation, international development, and rural economic progress. Their widespread application also reshaped ecosystems and raised concerns about environmental and public health effects.
The goal of this workshop is to explore how agrochemicals have influenced the relationship between scientific knowledge, international development agendas and approaches, and national political priorities in different regions of the world. Furthermore, it aims to investigate the role of business companies and other non-governmental actors in shaping strategies for and against the use of agrochemicals. We invite contributions that analyse how agrochemicals have interacted with human and natural environments in specific localities. We are equally interested in how these interactions have been debated, legitimised, or contested within scientific communities, development organisations, and national and international politics.