PAN can point to many achievements in 15
years of campaigning against hazardous pesticides. Its work has contributed to
the increased awareness not only of the health and environmental problems
associated with pesticides, but also of the associated economic dependency and
the role of industrial agriculture in undermining the social and cultural values
of many rural communities.
The PAN Dirty Dozen campaign launched on 5 June 1985 (which
expanded to 18 pesticides) has been widely supported by public interest
organisations, development agencies, academic institutions and some governments.
Among its other work, PAN has lobbied both governments and the UN Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for a strong International Code of Conduct on the
Distribution and Use of Pesticides. When the Prior Informed Consent (PIC)
procedure was omitted from the Code, PAN continued to press for its inclusion,
which was finally accepted in 1989. PAN also drew attention to hazardous
pesticides being dumped from the North to the South, and returning in food
residues to the North through a 'circle of poison'.
Working together, groups in the South and North have
documented on-going pesticide problems, exacerbated in developing countries by
the conditions under which they are used, and campaigned for elimination of
hazardous pesticides in aid-funded programmes. Evidence is growing of health
problems caused by organophosphate insecticides-widely used in the South but
generally not banned in the North-and of how over-use of pesticides has led to
insect resistance, increasing economic hardships to farmers.
In spite of the greater awareness of pesticide hazards, use
has continued to grow and in 1995 sales had reached US$30 billion, with ten
companies controlling 80% of the market. Indications are that sales will
increase in the immediate future and companies are targeting new markets in
developing countries. Evidence suggests that the awareness of hazards has not
yet led to a reduction in health or environmental problems, and concern is
growing for the impact of high chemical input agriculture in undermining the
social and cultural values of many rural communities.
Faced with mounting pesticide use PAN groups have become
active in promoting ecological agriculture. Organic, low external input, or
integrated pest management (IPM): whatever the label, the aim has been to create
and promote positive alternatives to the accepted high input model of
agriculture, and to demonstrate that these viable alternatives are not only
safer for human health and the environment, but also make economic sense. In
relation to food security, the case for ecological agriculture increases. Food
insecure communities and households in rural areas are better served by an
agriculture which strengthens the rural economy and does not lead farmers into
debt and dependency.
In bringing together many diverse groups, committed to
reducing and eliminating dependence on pesticides on a broad scale, the fourth
PAN International Conference brought the network to a new maturity. The
organisation locates the problems of pesticides in a broad economic, political
and social framework, as reflected in the range of workshops. While the
commitment remains as strong as ever to tackle specific pesticide issues-acute
and chronic toxicity, environmental persistence, destruction of agrobiodiversity-the
context of women's rights, land reform, development policies, trade policies,
corporate strategies and the struggle for control of plant genetic resources and
farmers rights were central to developing future co-ordinated strategies.
Workshops covered areas of pesticide problems, political issues and ecological
alternatives, and a selection of recommendations follow:
Problems with pesticides
WHO Ia, Ib and obsolete pesticides
The World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies
pesticides according to toxicity, with those in class Ia being 'extremely
hazardous' and in class Ib 'highly hazardous'. The FAO recommends that
class I pesticides should not be used in developing countries, where the
conditions of use make it virtually impossible that these will not affect the
health of farmers, and will also have adverse impacts on the wider environment.
PAN Africa has launched a three-year programme documenting evidence of on-going
problems. Recommendations included:
Disposal of obsolete pesticides was also discussed in this workshop and it was noted that many unsafe practices are still common, including incineration in cement kilns and burying stocks under construction sites:
aid agencies should dispose of the obsolete pesticides in developing countries;
governments should be encouraged to put into place policies and encourage training which will avoid excess and obsolete stocks.
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Workshop at PAN International conference |
Methyl bromide workshop
Methyl bromide is an ozone-depleting pesticide which
is covered by the Montreal protocol negotiations seeking to reduce and phase out
use of these chemicals. An NGO alliance has played an active role, co-ordinated
and monitored by PAN North America with Friends of the Earth International.
Recommendations included:
examples of successful alternatives to MB in specific locations are still needed, with an emphasis on their incorporation into Montreal Protocol reports and recommendations;
in Peru, a national process is underway between government representatives, NGOs and procurers to investigate and develop a national response to the MB situation-a useful model for other countries;
countries which use little MB should be encouraged to ban its use.
Agrochemical industry strategies
Participants shared information on strategies that
agrochemical companies employ. African participants observed an increase in
activities promoting pesticides in their countries. The recommendations
suggested:
the most influential information is good documentation of the actions agrochemical companies in farming areas in the north and south, and the impact of their strategies;
corporate strategies promoting pesticide-based IPM need to be particularly targeted;
use shareholder meetings to attract publicity.
Political and economic context
Women and pesticides
Women are invisible as farmers and contributors to the
agricultural economy. There is little gender differentiated data on the impacts
of pesticides on health, although for women key issues relate to reproductive
health, e.g. breast cancer, reported abortions and still births. Among the
recommendations were a recognition that:
there is a need for training on methodologies for research and analysis on women and pesticides, including training doctors to recognise the impact of pesticides on health-especially on women's health;
there should be a clear agenda in PAN to strengthen their gender awareness; analyse issues from the perspective of women; and to promote women's empowerment, equal participation and leadership.
Biotechnology-the new green revolution?
The link between developments in biotechnology and
increased pesticide use is apparent as companies promote crops genetically
engineered to express insecticides, or resistant to herbicides. Among the
recommendations were:
a call for labelling and separation of genetically engineered foods within the framework of a citizen's right to know;
rejection of genetically engineered plants as an alternative to pesticides, and commitment to research their impact in the context of increasing pesticide use;
support work on the Biosafety Protocol of the Convention on Bio-Diversity.
Conventions and Agenda 21
Recognising the limits to international Conventions,
participants noted that they also provide opportunities for tighter
international controls. Discussion focused on national and local action to
follow up Agenda 21. Recommendations included:
well-documented information from local and field level on the problems of pesticides provides a powerful force in strengthening international negotiations and should remain a core part of PAN activities;
NGOs should develop criteria for including hazardous pesticides in the PIC and POPs processes, which at present exclude controversial pesticides such as endosulfan;
PAN groups could participate in preparation of national (chemical) profiles;
production of some widely banned chemicals has moved from the North to the South and research is needed to clarify new centres of production and pesticide dumping, both North-South and South-South.
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Farmers at a 1,200 ha co-operative organic farm near Santa Clara, Cuba, discussing crop rotation to PAN participants on a field trip |
Establishing alternatives
Biodiversity-based agriculture
Industrial agriculture is the major cause of erosion
of agricultural biodiversity. Sustainable management of livelihood and
agricultural diversity is an integral aspect of developing agroecological
alternatives to pesticides use. Recommendations included:
PAN groups should continuously make the connection between pesticide use and erosion of agrobiodiversity in their campaigns;
PAN groups should document successful community based alternatives and present them to international fora to counter corporate assertions that pesticides are needed to feed people;
PAN should join coalitions backing 'NO Patents on Life' -affirming that life includes plants, animals, micro-organisms and humans-and campaign for the removal of control of life forms from the trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPS).
Organic cotton
Supporting organic cotton production demonstrates that
this traditionally chemical-intensive crop can be grown without pesticides,
while also promoting farmer based approaches to ecological agriculture.
Recommendations include:
crop rotation is a basic requirement for organic cotton and associated organic food crops provides additional local advantages;
PAN should help identify: markets for organic cotton; farmers' groups and NGOs interested in growing organic cotton; and local processing industries to build up local trade, or more value added exports;
strategies for stabilising the cotton market and prices need research, as the instability threatens organic cotton production;
PAN should develop activities to remove subsidies which maintain low production costs of conventionally grown cotton.
Risk and use reduction
The workshop considered the different approaches to
reducing: the amount of pesticides used; the risks from pesticides; and
dependence on their use, taking the joint FAO/OECD analysis. Use and risk
reduction is a mechanism which can help move us towards IPM and sustainable
agriculture. The recommendations noted that:
risk and use reduction strategies should: focus attention on agriculture and not just chemicals; encourage farmer participation; force industry to react; enable quantification of the hidden costs of pesticides.
priority pesticides for elimination under a reduction programme would be pesticides: in the Dirty Dozen, WHO class Ia and Ib, causing cancer, identified in PIC and POPs actions, and endocrine disruptors.
noting that a chemical-by-chemical approach is insufficient, PAN groups could use the reduction programmes to press for lower input, ecologically-sound agriculture.
Conclusion
Concluding the conference, groups discussed ways of
strengthening activities through a unifying campaign, which focused on actions
to reduce pesticide hazards and use, and to promote ecological agricultural
alternatives. Drawing on regionally based work, PAN has successfully welded
alliance building, local action, and local research with international
visibility for pesticide problems and international action. The international
conference has laid the firm groundwork for developing the essential work needed
to ensure that food is produced without using poisons, and that the way ahead is
based on ecological agricultural production, which ensures strong participation
from women, farmers and rural communities. (BD)
A conference report will be available at the end
of July in English, Spanish and French from PAN regional centres.
[This
article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 36,
June 1997, pages 12-13]