Editorial - Pesticides News No. 24

Pesticide problems will only be effectively eliminated when safer, sustainable alternative products and agricultural methods have been developed and are widely available.  While policies to promote pesticide reduction are in place, at a global level there is little sign of their impact. Worldwide sales in 1993 of US$25,280 million indicate that as many pesticides as ever are reaching the market place, though at a reduced rate of growth.
    This issue of Pesticides News features a number of initiatives in the UK promoting ecological farming systems.  A research project into less-intensive farming and the environment (LIFE) by the Institute of Arable Research has successfully demonstrated that lower inputs don't mean reduced yields.  The Scottish Natural Heritage is looking at environmentally sustainable development through, for example, its project of 'targeted inputs for a better rural environment' (TIBRE) which promotes environmentally beneficial technology for intensive agriculture. SNH believes this technology could be produced by industry, but the take up is slow because of the lack of financial incentives.
    A workshop organised by the European Commission has published standards to deal with environmental problems of agriculture, based on a farming systems approach.  Key components include crop rotation, soil conservation, maintaining biodiversity and chemical and non-chemical crop protection. A knowledge-based approach is essential, yet the workshop confirmed that there is a gradual decline across Europe in the availability of expert advice. 
    Most alternatives promoting sustainable agriculture still concentrate on maintaining current yields.  Yet in Europe and North America, subsidised surplus production is exported to the South, depressing agricultural prices and reducing production.  Food security policies to protect markets in developing countries are essential, particularly as the GATT agreement will liberalise trade in agriculture. There was therefore widespread welcome for the announcement of the new Director General of the FAO, Mr. Jacques Diouf, that food security must be a major commitment, particularly in Low Income Food Deficit Countries.  At the meeting of the FAO Council endorsing Mr. Diouf's proposals, many governments and NGOs drew attention to the limits of a production-oriented approach alone, noting that the key issues of distribution and access to food must be an integral approach to policies promoting food security. 
    While the sustainable agriculture agenda moves slowly forward, the newly-formed mechanism to promote safety and prevention of international traffic in dangerous toxic substances, the Inter-governmental Forum on Chemical Safety, held its first meeting in Stockholm in April, calling for improved risk assessment, better information, risk reduction and strengthening of national capacity.  A meeting of the Conference on Sustainable Development (the follow up to UNCED) in New York in May asked FAO and UNEP to continue their work making the Prior Informed Consent procedure into a legally binding instrument.
    There is need to bring together the focus on export controls and risk reduction in trade and production, with greater investment in sustainable alternatives.

The Pesticides Trust [now PAN UK] in 1993
The Trust's annual report for 1993 is now available.  It reviews activities and publications over the year, and provides an update of our projects. In the UK, health concerns in 1993 focused on organophosphate pesticides used as sheep dips and the legal rights of pesticide-exposed sufferers. Our main projects during the year have involved exploring the possibilities of adopting pesticide reduction policies, developing least toxic and alternative pest control strategies for local authorities and using cotton as a case study, examining the possibilities of sustainable production and trade. Our efforts to inform the public and the media continue through briefings, through Pesticides News and Current Research Monitor, and the opening of our resource centre has enabled us to put in depth information at the disposal of many researchers.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 24, June 1994, page 2]