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Insecticides and pesticides project1/28/2024 ![]() ![]() While such bans are crucial to reducing pesticide use, governments must also promote safer alternatives. In September, South Africa announced plans to phase out Highly Hazardous Pesticides by June 2024. Importing countries have also taken steps in the right direction: Tunisia, Mexico, and the Palestinian Authority have banned imports of pesticides that are forbidden in the exporting or producing country. And Germany has recently reaffirmed its commitment to passing legislation prohibiting exports of hazardous pesticides. In France, a law forbidding the manufacture, storage, and export of EU-banned pesticides was enacted in January. Two years ago, Switzerland banned the export of five highly toxic pesticides. Fortunately, European regulators have begun to crack down. Similarly, personal protective equipment is often unavailable, too expensive, or unsuitable for warm climates.Ĭivil-society organizations have long urged governments to address the pesticide double standard. But, because most farmers’ plots are smaller than two acres and closely situated, it is impossible to implement protective measures such as creating buffer zones. In Kenya, for example, 76% of the pesticides in use contain active ingredients that are categorized as highly hazardous, and almost half of the pesticides used in the country are banned in Europe. Because small-scale farmers are often unaware of the dangers of chemical-based pest controls, it is important to provide information about how to mitigate the risks associated with pesticide use and enable them to seek safer alternatives.īut awareness campaigns on their own are unlikely to remove the harmful effects of using hazardous pesticides. Hazardous pesticides are particularly damaging to farmers in developing countries with weak environmental and safety regulations. Moreover, women tend to have much greater exposure to pesticides than men and are more vulnerable to pollution-related illnesses. According to UN experts, these toxic substances endanger people’s rights to food, health, and a clean environment, particularly in developing countries. The United Nations has long considered Highly Hazardous Pesticides a global human-rights concern. And European companies such as BASF, Bayer, and Syngenta continue to sell them to low- and middle-income countries, where approval requirements are often less stringent and regulatory authorities are understaffed.Īccess every new PS commentary, our entire On Point suite of subscriber-exclusive content – including Longer Reads, Insider Interviews, Big Picture/Big Question, and Say More – and the full PS archive. While many of these hazardous pesticides have been banned in Europe, they account for over one-third of the sales of the world’s five largest pesticide manufacturers. In particular, the publication highlights the growing use of toxic herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides like glyphosate, imidacloprid, and carbendazim to cultivate soybeans, corn, sugarcane, and grapevines. The Heinrich Böll Foundation’s recent Pesticide Atlas sheds light on the dangers these highly hazardous substances pose to the environment and to public health. In the past few years, the EU has focused on Highly Hazardous Pesticides, banning dozens of active ingredients that may cause acute or chronic health problems and destroy critical biodiversity. The European Union’s Farm to Fork Strategy, part of its Green New Deal, aims to reduce pesticide use and risk by 50% by 2030. Reducing the use of toxic pesticides is an important first step toward sustainable food production. In the past, low- and middle-income countries subsidized such inputs, but soaring inflation has made subsidies too costly, contributing to the sharp rise in food prices. Dependency on fossil-fuel-based agricultural inputs, such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, has made conventional farming more expensive for many around the world. The global food crisis, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has highlighted the urgent need to transform our vulnerable food systems. Clearly the answer cannot be found in using more pesticides. But up to 828 million people – more than 10% of the world’s population – still go to bed hungry every night. Pesticide manufacturers often claim that their products are crucial to combating global hunger. In 2017, global pesticide use had grown to four million tons per year, an increase of nearly 81% since 1990. And yet, despite these negative effects, industrial agriculture still relies on pesticide use.
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