Application in Asia

The report is now available of a workshop on Safe and Efficient Application of Agro-chemicals and Bio-products held in May 1997, attended by high officials from government institutions of 13 Asian countries. This represented the first activity of an FAO programme addressing the major savings that could be achieved if pesticides were applied with good quality equipment, in good working conditions, and by trained applicators.

Theodore Friedrich, of the FAO Agricultural Engineering Branch, says that "using state-of-the art equipment and knowledge, 30 to 50% of the pesticides actually sprayed in agriculture could be saved immediately without any change in the pest control concepts." Many participants at the workshop also described their country's integrated pest management (IPM) projects, which have taken savings far further by introducing not only better spray equipment, but by training farmers in order to equip them with the knowledge and confidence to better manage pests, understand when, or even whether, spraying is necessary.
    The report provides valuable information on pesticide practices, policies and use in the Asia region, with country reports from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, and other information from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran and Myanmar. Workshop participants demonstrated that there is deep concern about issues of pesticide application at government policy level. However, even where a legal framework for pesticide application matters exists, field level practices remain unacceptable.

India
A survey in 14 States to analyse the use of sprayers found that about 67% of farmers used a particular lever operated knapsack sprayer which presented them with many problems during spraying. In particular, 66% had problems with replacement of the piston and 66% with clogging of nozzles.
    A study on levels of pesticide poisoning found that out of 635 pesticide poisoning cases, only 189 were reported to the local hospital. About 25% of these cases were accidental, and pesticides were the main toxic agents. The investigation uncovered farmer practices which resulted in exposure to spray drift, as well as use of the mouth to siphon the pesticide from the container.
    India also reported that hundreds of people die due to food poisoning each year. A survey of pesticide residues in food samples collected in 12 states found residues in 85% of samples, with 43% above the recommended doses.

Malaysia
A survey of pesticide application equipment owned by rice farmers in the Muda area found many shortcomings, for example none had a waist strap, 80% were considered heavy, none had a sump, and 46% had a hose that was difficult to remove or tighten. In terms of functional performance, 44% had an efficiency of less than 75%.
The health and safety practices of vegetable farmers need improvement: only 40% use gloves when mixing pesticides, 24% did not change clothes if wet with pesticides, 13% blow out clogged nozzles.

Pakistan
With an agrochemical market of around US$28 million, studies have shown that almost 50% of this is wasted as a result of poor performance of application equipment. The Agricultural Mechanization Research Institute (AMRI), which has programmes for improving manufacture of pesticide equipment, also conducted a survey of three hospitals and found 52 patients treated for (non-suicidal) pesticide poisoning and one casualty. Pesticide residues in food, breast milk and cattle milk are high. Pesticide drift is a main problem of atmospheric and groundwater pollution to levels described as 'alarming'.

Philippines
Most farmers have not received training using pesticides or application equipment. While they generally perceive pesticides as hazardous and that contamination should be avoided, protective measures taken are limited. In one survey 40% of farmers wore a hat, 35% a 'mask' (normally a handkerchief), and 50% long sleeve shirts and pants. Gloves and boots are generally not worn. Knapsack sprayers are widely used, with an annual demand for about 100,000. The state of equipment and lack of training led to the conclusion that applicators face a high level of pesticide exposure, particularly dermal.

Vietnam
A survey of 1,500 farmers in 16 provinces in South Vietnam showed 83% of farmers owned a sprayer and the remainder either rented or borrowed one. Most commonly used are knapsack sprayers. Standards may have deteriorated with the break up of cooperatives, which had a plant protection team with members trained to operate sprayers. Now over 70% of farmers learn by themselves or from a neighbour. Protective measures are limited: 39% use a mouth and nose cover (simple tissue mask or handkerchief); 37% wore trousers and long-sleeved shirts. Safety improvements are expected as a result of a 1995 regulation requiring pesticide labels to be printed in Vietnamese.

Problems faced
With the exception of Bhutan, pesticide use has continued to rise in all the countries present. The country studies confirmed that farmers were using toxic materials, applied with poorly designed and maintained, hand-carried spray equipment. While often fabricated locally, the equipment was affordable to farmers, but often lacked maintenance and spare-parts back up.
    Other problems faced by governments include the lack of awareness and knowledge of the hazards of agrochemicals to human health and the environment, the increases in residues of pesticides in the food chain, general resistance to pests, lack of training for applicators of spray technology.
    Participants in the workshop welcomed the trend to adopt IPM policies as a necessary step to reduce pesticide use. India, for example, reported on the current thrust in plant protection to promote IPM, with 26 central IPM centres established since 1992 for demonstration and training. In rice, 174 training sessions have been completed, and 40 in cotton. Each session covers about 20 extension officers and 120 farmers, who are trained in pest management techniques which equip farmers to use a range of control measures, aiming to reduce their dependence on chemical pesticide application. Training covers plant resistance, cultural methods, mechanical methods, physical methods, insect growth regulators, plant origin materials and biological controls.

Recommendations
A recent meeting in Rome of the FAO Panel of Experts on Pesticide Specifications, Registration Requirements, Application Standards and Prior Informed Consent and the Panel of Experts on Agricultural Engineering noted that more resources have been devoted to pesticide registration than to pesticide application. The application workshop report provides a basis for addressing this imbalance. Among the points for action, participants proposed that FAO member governments should:

• strengthen centres of activity in specialised areas like agrochemical application equipment standards;
• review and strengthen legislation on agro-chemical application equipment standards and quality;
• devote more resources to educational and mass media materials on safe use and application of agro-chemicals;
• strengthen research and development in design of equipment;
• foster more regional workshops, particularly on harmonisation of application equipment standards, pesticide ecotoxicology and IPM, including alternative methods of pest control and the repair and maintenance of application equipment. (BD)

Salokhe, V.M. (ed), Safe and Efficient Application of Agro-chemicals and Bio products in South and Southeast Asia, Proceedings of the International Workshop, Asian Institute of Technology, PO Box 4, Klangluang, Pathumthani-12120, Thailand, Tel. +66 2 524 5479, Fax +662 524 6200, 28-30 May 1997.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 38, December 1997, page 16]