New guidelines for addressing highly hazardous pesticides
Written by Melanie Bateman, CABI There are many different ways in which pesticides can potentially cause harm to human health or to the environment. For example, substances which are acutely toxic can knock someone down rather rapidly, with symptoms felt within a short space of time. Chronic toxicity, on the other hand, can lead to…
Farmer Health: A Case Against Pesticides
Guest blog by Julie Potyraj; read her previous post on community health here For most of us, the point of choosing sustainably grown foods is to protect our own health and to minimize environmental damage. While these are important reasons for making better choices at the grocery store, what about the human side and the health of those…
Using the crop clinic concept to minimize the indiscriminate use of pesticides
A recent article in the Sri Lanka Plant Protection Industry Journal highlights how the crop clinic concept in Sri Lanka has promoted effective, judicious use of pesticides. PT Bandara and WMDH Kulatunga describe how the Permanent Crop Clinic Programme (PCCP), established in 2009, provides effective advice that both prevents the destruction of natural enemies due…
Update: Plant Health News (20 May 15)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including a model for sustainable onion production in India, a new training guide produced by FAO and ILO to protect children form the harmful effects of pesticides and a Chinese agricultural technology company providing support to improve food production in Tanzania. Click on the…
Plantwise linking policy to practice
Contributed by Melanie Bateman, CABI Switzerland Quarantine, then and now During the 1400s, it is estimated that one third of Europe’s population died of the plague. In order to slow its spread, some cities adopted radical measures. For example, the Viscount of Reggio, Italy, decreed that anyone sick with the plague should be moved to…
One stop shop for information on internationally restricted chemicals
Contributed by Melanie Bateman, CABI Switzerland Together, the three conventions that govern chemicals and hazardous waste safety at the global level (the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions) have launched an online search tool for finding technical and scientific publications to support sound management of chemicals and waste: http://synergies.pops.int/Implementation/Publications/ScientificandTechnicalPublications/tabid/3790/language/en-US/Default.aspx In particular, the member countries of these…
Pesticides-L mailing list: creating a global conversation on pesticides issues
Written by Melanie Bateman, Integrated Crop Management Adviser, CABI Switzerland As has been mentioned before in this blog, there are a staggering number of chemicals in the world – estimates go as high as 2 million different preparations for sale. This is a lot for regulators in any given country to assess and monitor for…
Update: Plant Health News (27 Aug 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including surveillance robots that can detect weeds and pest insects, a focus on gender capacity development in Ethiopia and smallholder farmers in Africa adopting practices to improve their field soil health. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Update: Plant Health News (18 Jun 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including chemical-free citrus post-harvest becoming the new standard, how weeds could help feed billions in a warming world and the rehabilitation of banana fields devastated by Xanthomonas wilt in DRC. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Update: Plant Health News (09 Apr 14)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the banana plants that can fight off nematodes, the effect of pesticides on earthworms and training for farmers in Gambia on rice crop husbandry. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!