Cost Effectiveness of Plant Protection on a National Basis1

The costs of plant protection on a national basis were calculated using the Netherlands, 1978, as an example. A combination of public statistics and enquiry data yielded a value of total costs due to pests and diseases of over one billion (10⁹) guilders, of which 10 % for public expenses, 58 % for private expenses, and 32 % for residual damage. Very preliminary estimates of cost effectiveness in terms of marginal benefit/cost ratios were 16 for « inspection and control >> 90 for « research >> 10 for « teaching >> and about 4 for « private expenses >> and for « overall cost effectiveness >>. Such data have limited meaning when the delay times for various types of crop protection activities are disregarded.