Pesticides and Agriculture
Armenian based NGO Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment (AWHHE) undertook a project to produce a Mercury Country Status Report for Armenia. Their investigation into mercury pollution has contributed important information to the national efforts to develop an inventory of mercury pollution sources and contaminated sites which they have been able to share with key stakeholders and the public.
For this project, Association pour la Recherche et la Formation en Agro-écologie (ARFA) conducted field demonstrations for farmers in Burkina Faso on the effectiveness of the fungus Trichoderma as a way to move away from the use of highly hazardous pesticides. Additionally, they shared information on the Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO's) International Code of Conduct concerning the Distribution and Use of Pesticides, and distributed various information materials about non-hazardous pest control.
In 2010, the NGO groundWork (Friends of the Earth South Africa) convened over 65 farmers from around the country who expressed a desire to educate themselves about the safe handling and proper use of pesticides. Over the course of two days, participants took part in educational sessions that included guided tours of farms practicing permaculture and organic practices. Other interactive discussion sessions featured conversations about basic workplace safety.
ECOVISION organizeed an awareness campaign with local authorities, NGOs and rural farmers concerning the terrible contamination from obsolete pesticides in the Kvemi Kartli on of Georgia.
A 3-day workshop was organized by Cameroon Pesticide Action Network to raise awareness about the FAO Code of conduct on the production, distribution and use of pesticides. Topics included a general background on pesticides, dangers of pesticide use on humans and the environment, pesticides registration in Cameroon, alternatives, the IPM concept and its implementation in Cameroon, etc. Civil society, Farmers' Associations, pesticides importers and distributors and government representatives attended.
In order to promote the FAO Code of Conduct and elimination of hazardous pesticide use in favor of more sustainable agricultural practices, AWHHE surveyed farmers and citizens in 4 villages to determine their awareness levels about and use of pesticides. Thereafter they organized a series of discussion groups with residents, farmers, youth groups, and local government officials to discuss the results, as well as distribute Armenian-language educational materials they hd drafted.
Continuing their research on highly toxic pesticide use in North Sumatra and Central Java, Gita Pertiwi conducted an overall assessment of the current pesticide situation. This assessment used survey, interview, and observation methods to document the types of pesticides currently in use, how they are used, and the health effects on those using them. In addition, Gita Pertiwi also conducted market research exploring the advertising and selling practices of distributors and local vendors of pesticides.
Parivartan Pariharpur Sansthan (PPS) helped small and marginal farmers in the Madhubani district of India form 10 "Farmer’s Clubs" (with 10-12 members) to encourage collaborative capacity building, resource sharing, networking with local government, as well as training in Integrated Pest Management. Among the other successes of this program, Parivartan noted that encouraging the Farmer Club model has strengthened community ties between farmers, villagers, and government officials, and made them all aware of the critical need for sustainable ecological practices.
Institut za ruralni razvoj i ekologiju (IRRE) held a public seminar and produced an 8-page booklet to help Croatia’s agricultural stakeholders move towards complying with a recent national law mandating the practice of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Through this seminar and accompanying booklet, farmers and other relevant stakeholders were educated about the tenets of IPM including fertilization and plant stress, crop rotation, soil health, and pesticide waste management.
A situational analysis of POPs in the Morogoro Hotspot Area was conducted by Tanzania Association of Public Occupational and Environmental Health Experts (TAPOHE) in 2011. Participatory survey methods including desk review, in-depth interviews with key informants, focused group discussions and participants’ observations were used to collect data. Additionally, soil and biota samples (plants) were collected for pesticide chemical analysis. Findings from the situational analysis confirmed that Morogoro is one of the most DDT (and other obsolete pesticides)- contaminated sites in the country.
