The Pesticide Detox  

The journey from current levels of dependence on pesticides to agricultural and public health systems that draw on safer and more sustainable pest management options is likely to be long and arduous. Christopher Stopes reviews a new book that provides the reasons to speed up this journey, the available tools, and the policy strategies needed to achieve this objective.

Available from PAN UK The Pesticide Detox can be purchased direct from the PAN UK bookstore for £22.95 + p&p. Send payment to PAN UK, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4JX, UK, Fax: +44 (0)20 7065 0907 or via our secure website. Please add postage and packaging, £2 (UK), £3 (Europe), £5 (outside Europe).

The use of pesticides as an integral part of intensive conventional agriculture is increasingly recognised as unsustainable. The impressive growth in agricultural production has masked enormous hidden costs arising from widespread pesticide use – massive ecological damage and high incidences of farmer poisoning and chronic health effects. The Pesticide Detox: towards a more sustainable agriculture was conceived by the FAO Global IPM Facility as a public call to explore the potential and practicalities for phasing-out hazardous pesticides and phasing-in cost effective alternatives already available on the market or in farmers’ hands. The book examines in detail the problems of the external costs of pesticides, paid by society in terms of harmful effects on our health, environment and biodiversity. It then considers concrete examples of alternative pest management strategies, countering the pesticide protagonist’s view that they either do not work, or are uneconomic. 
    Chapters 1-3 provide a timely update on environmental and health impacts and external costs. The serious under-reporting of pesticide-related ill health is explored and how this can mislead policy makers. Recent evidence challenges the assertions of the pesticide industry that suicides cause more acute poisonings than occupational exposure. There is a comprehensive analysis of the true costs of pesticides, with new data from Germany, UK, US and China revealing external costs averaging US$4.28 per kg of active ingredient applied. 
    The pesticide industry’s response to the problems posed by pesticides has been to initiate ‘safe use programmes’ (SUP). But by their own admission, SUPs are expensive and largely ineffective, particularly with small holders. Examples of the strategies of pesticide corporations are described in Chapter 4 and how the tougher revised FAO Code of Conduct may help to exert some influence on bad practice.
    Chapter 5 reviews how in some, but not all, cases hazardous pesticides can be replaced by ‘agrobiologicals’, the biological equivalents to chemical pesticides – based on bacteria, fungi, viruses and invertebrates that act as predators and parasites of pests, along with methods of habitat manipulation. Farmers’ perceptions and decision-making about pesticides and pests are analysed in Chapter 6. Sound decision-making and management skills are vitally important if farmers are to move away from reliance on pesticides and the most appropriate forms of farmer training to achieve this are discussed. Chapter 7 sets out a radical vision for the human and social dimensions of a more sustainable pest management, focusing on cognition and learning, with the aim of making readers think beyond conventional aspects of technology or policy.
    Chapters 8-12 look at problems and alternatives in practice in developing countries. There is detailed analysis of low-toxicity IPM strategies for rice and vegetables in Asia, developed by the FAO Farmer Field School programmes, of their ecological basis for IPM and discussion of the different drivers for change in the two crops. Policy and market influences for pesticide reduction in African cropping systems include case studies on the practicalities of eliminating pesticides in cereals and vegetables, without jeopardising food quality or yields. A study of potato production in Ecuador revealed very high rates of pesticide poisoning, with 60% of rural populations affected. A three-pronged approach of ecological education, promotion of alternative methods and policy advocacy to remove the most hazardous compounds is outlined to address this situation. Case studies from Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal give insights into pesticide dependency and its health effects and costs in four different crops for export and for local consumption, challenging the perception that low aggregate usage in Africa corresponds with low risks. Persuading policymakers of the field realities of usage by smallholders and the need for IPM and agroecological education is a priority. The specific challenges for encouraging cocoa smallholders in West Africa to shift to safer pest management include finding cheap and effective alternatives to lindane insecticide, but also require re-education and re-organisation of farmer support systems.
    Different initiatives for pesticide reduction and agroecological pest management approaches in intensive, industrialised cropping systems in North America and Europe are assessed in Chapters 13-14. Practical ecologically-based methods are outlined as well as specific programmes started by grower associations, food companies and others in apples, potato, cereals and peas. These chapters also discuss the sociopolitical climate for ecological pest management and the growing influence of consumer demands.
    The Pesticide Detox concludes with a strategic chapter on policy, addressing the emergence of a new agenda for developing processes of change. Chief culprits for recommended phase-out are the Class Ia and Ib extremely and highly hazardous pesticides, carcinogens and endocrine disrupters, as well as those that are environmentally persistent. The book is frank about the difficulties in cutting back on chemicals, but emphasises that recent years have seen millions of farmers in communities around the world reduce their use of harmful pesticides and develop cheaper and safer alternative systems. Whereas once the risks involved with pesticide use were judged to be outweighed by the potential benefits, increasingly the external costs are being seen as unacceptable. This book makes clear that it is time to start the pesticide detox and to make real political commitments towards a more sustainable agriculture.
    The Pesticide Detox provides an excellent, up to date overview of pesticide and policy issues for a global audience, while the depth of information, case studies and analysis by leading scientists and practitioners makes it an extremely useful resource for academics, campaigners and policymakers.
    PAN UK is delighted to have contributed to this book, with four chapters written or co-authored by staff members. 

The Pesticide Detox – Towards a more sustainable agriculture, Edited by Jules Pretty, Earthscan publications, 294 pages, ISBN 1844071421.
Christopher Stopes is a member of the UK Advisory Committee on Pesticides.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 67, March 2005, page 22]