New report shows that alternatives to glyphosate do exist

2023-03-09T19:44:33+00:00March 9th, 2023|Tags: , , |

This year the EU will decide on the re-approval of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the world's most popular and controversial weed killer. Exposure to the herbicide not only poses a risk to human health and other living organisms, it also threatens biodiversity and the future of agriculture.  Published [...]

Why do some councils reverse their ban on pesticides?

2023-10-29T09:37:10+00:00April 27th, 2022|

by Emma Pavans de Ceccatty, Campaigner, PAN UK Many councils still rely on pesticides, including weedkillers, to keep our pavements, parks, playgrounds, housing estates and many other urban spaces ‘clean and tidy’ and free of ‘weeds’. Yet over 80 councils across the UK have either entirely stopped using these chemicals, [...]

Phasing out the worst insecticides in Ethiopian smallholder vegetables

2022-01-24T15:49:40+00:00December 17th, 2021|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

As part of a webinar series organised by FAO and the Rotterdam Convention to share experiences in reducing and phasing out Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), PAN Ethiopia’s Project Coordinator, Atalo Belay, and PAN UK’s Staff Scientist, Stephanie Williamson, recently presented our experiences working with smallholder vegetable farmers in Ethiopia’s Central [...]

Alternatives to paraquat dichloride in weed management

2021-12-17T13:48:32+00:00November 8th, 2021|Tags: , , , , , |

PAN UK recently presented at the international webinar ‘Alternatives to Paraquat Dichloride in Weed Management’, organised by FAO, the Rotterdam Convention and UN Environment Programme. Staff Scientist, Stephanie Williamson, summarises the different cultural, mechanical, manual and biological weed management methods which can be used for reducing reliance on herbicides below. [...]

Agroecological weed management in bananas

2021-05-18T17:41:31+01:00May 17th, 2021|Tags: , , , , |

PAN UK recently collaborated with the UN Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and policy makers in the Caribbean region on ways to reduce and phase out  Highly Hazardous Pesticides. We were privileged to talk with regional experts on their experiences. Here Gustavo Gandini from the Dominican Republic talks about the [...]

Alternatives to herbicides – a new guide

2021-03-19T12:02:28+00:00February 4th, 2021|Tags: , , |

With a climate change emergency, collapsing biodiversity and a global health crisis underway it is imperative that our urban spaces become healthier places for people and wildlife. The body of evidence linking pesticides to serious human health and environmental harms is growing, as is the movement to end their use. [...]

Tackling weeds without the use of pesticides

2021-03-19T12:06:33+00:00September 20th, 2020|Tags: , , , |

By Stuart Fraser, Kersten UK Hello readers of the PAN UK blog, I work for a company called Kersten UK. Our business specialises in chemical-free integrated weed management and we’d love to share some of our thoughts with you on the topic. We’ve noticed a trend of public bodies moving [...]

Is organic banana production viable?

2019-09-09T11:02:03+01:00September 9th, 2019|Tags: , , |

By Paul Lievens, Communications & Policy Officer, Banana Link "Twenty or thirty years ago, people who are growing organic – they are crazy people! To grow organic is to think different. About the workers, about the social aspects also. To work with the communities. Also, to work with the [...]

Agroecology threatens the existence of a toxic pesticide industry

2019-05-07T13:08:00+01:00May 7th, 2019|Tags: , |

by Michel Pimbert, Professor of Agroecology and Food Politics at Coventry University Pesticide companies are caught up in a fierce competition for survival. In the current context of global mergers and restructurings, transnational corporations need to continuously increase their sales of synthetic pesticides in every possible corner of the [...]

Three small robots and their quest to save the world

2019-04-24T10:56:23+01:00April 24th, 2019|Tags: , , |

by Sam Watson Jones, co-founder of Small Robot Company and fourth generation Shropshire farmer 'Harry' prototype robot with Sam Watson Jones, co-founder of Small Robot Company, Andrew Hoad, Partner & Head of the Leckford Estate, and Joe Allnutt, Head of Robot Awesomeness (credit Geoff Pugh) We’re living on [...]

An organic lawn

2019-04-17T10:07:17+01:00April 17th, 2019|Tags: , , , , , |

by Sarah Brown, Growing Advice Editor of Garden Organic It’s all too tempting to think of your lawn as a plain green area. Think instead of a wonderful, natural carpet, composed of thousands of separate plants, with colour, texture and wildlife. The organic lawn can feed birds, insects and soil [...]

Finding a commercially viable alternative to glyphosate in an urban setting

2019-03-27T11:56:39+00:00March 27th, 2019|Tags: , , , |

by Karen Rigby-Faux, Community Liaison Officer, Burleys Burleys, with its Royal Warrant, is a grounds maintenance company that has been in existence for more than 50 years. Burleys’ main clients include local authorities, the police, numerous sports clubs and schools across the South East. These are large contracts which involve maintaining public [...]

Managing a city park without pesticides

2019-03-20T08:47:53+00:00March 20th, 2019|Tags: , , |

by Steve Peters, Garden Manager, The Level Park, Brighton The Level Park is situated in the centre of Brighton and is completely pesticide-free. Entrance to The Level Park in Brighton which is managed without the use of pesticides. The park’s complete restoration using Heritage Lottery, Big Lottery Fund [...]

Insect identification guide for Ethiopian cotton fields

2019-08-28T11:09:58+01:00March 12th, 2019|Tags: , , , , |

NEW COTTON RESOURCE One of the principles of Integrated Pest Management is to make maximum use of natural pest control services provided by beneficial insects. Farmers are often unaware of these predatory and parasitic insects and may even spray them, not realising that they can help keep pest levels under [...]

Supporting sustainable vegetable farming in Ethiopia

2018-12-10T18:21:43+00:00December 10th, 2018|

Supporting healthy, sustainable and productive smallholder vegetable farming: PAN Ethiopia and PAN UK’s new joint project in the Central Rift Valley Excessive use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) on vegetable crops grown for the Ethiopian market in the Lake Ziway area threatens the health of farmers and consumers. It also [...]

The rise of organic agriculture in Ethiopia

2018-09-24T10:14:27+01:00September 19th, 2018|Tags: , , |

by Selam Yilma, Communications Officer, PAN Ethiopia (19th September 2018) Pesticide Action Nexus Ethiopia (PAN Ethiopia) has taken on the role of implementing the 'information and communication pillar' of the Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) initiative in Ethiopia. This pillar works to complement the work of other EOA partners through creating increased awareness and knowledge [...]

Latest resources in agroecology

2018-08-09T16:37:16+01:00August 9th, 2018|Tags: , , , , |

by Dr Stephanie Williamson, Staff Scientist, PAN UK (9th August 2018) Agroecological approaches to farming are receiving increasing attention, both at international policy level and in some countries’ national programmes. PAN UK’s Agroecology web section gives readers a brief description of agroecology. It also provides case studies in coffee, pineapples [...]

First biofertiliser plant using pineapple waste

2018-08-09T14:55:06+01:00August 9th, 2018|Tags: , , , , |

La Nación newspaper, Costa Rica, 29th August 2017 Translated from Spanish by PAN UK Processing plant will serve as a better means of dealing with foliage waste left over after harvesting pineapple fruit Machinery will also generate biogas fuel to generate electricity Creation of environment-friendly biofertiliser The first processing unit [...]

Recuperation of soil fertility

2018-08-03T13:53:30+01:00August 3rd, 2018|Tags: , , , , |

by Jorge Solano, Technical Dept., Eurofertil S.A., Costa Rica (This post is part of a summary of presentations prepared by Dr Stephanie Williamson, PAN UK, from the Coffee without HHPs workshop in Costa Rica, April 2017) Key messages: With increasingly degraded, acidic and eroded soils, biological factors, as well as the usual [...]

Organic inputs for productive coffee in a changing climate (Case Study Honduras)

2018-08-03T13:46:08+01:00August 3rd, 2018|Tags: , , , , |

by Renan Bajurto, Ecological Coffee Cooperative 'La Labor' (COCAFELOL) (This post is part of a summary of presentations prepared by Dr Stephanie Williamson, PAN UK, from the Coffee without HHPs workshop in Costa Rica, April 2017) Key messages: Each farm is a different world- it’s important not only to train farmers but [...]

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