and Integrated Pest Management - part - usaid

PESTICIDE SAFE USE TRAINING PROGRAM IN
MALAYSIA
Y. M. Esa and S. Ramasamy
Crop Protection Unit, Department of Agriculture
Pcnang 13200, Malaysia
and
Crop Protection Branch, Department of Agriculture
Jalan Gallagher, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The use of pesticides has become a necessary and accepted practice in :urrent
efforts to control insects and diseases, whether in agriculture, public health,
forestry, veterinary or homes. Presently there are about 1,000 types of pesticides
in various formulations, concentrations and trade names available in the
Malaysian market. It is estimated that this country spends about MS250 million
worth of pesticides annually for use in agriculture, forestry, public health,
veterinary, and household sectors. Out of this, 50% are spent on herbicides,
32% on household pesticides, 10% on agricultural insecticides and rodenticides
and 8% for other purposes.
Past surveys conducted in Malaysia show that, in general, the public
(including farmers) give little attention to the proper use of pesticides and to the
safety aspects of using pesticides. Few members of the public even realize the
risks associated with handling pesticides without proper procedures. As a result
there have been reports of users suffering from ill-effects due to the improper
handling ol pesticides.
With the recent increase in pesticide use, the need to have proper trfining on
pesticide safe use has become even more important. As a result, the Department
of Agriculture has taken a positive step by organizing a nation-wide campaign
on the safe use of pesticides. This campaign, which was launched in August
1984 has three main objectives:­
i. To create awareness among the general public on the dangers of using
pesticides,
ii. To expose the consumers or end-users to the safety procedures in
handling pesticides, and
iii. To make the public aware of the Pesticides Act, 1974.
The most important strategy in this campaign was the training aspect
followed by lectures/talks, exhibitions and publicity through mass media such as
radio, television, and newspapers. Through these activities, we hope that endusers
will eventually become more aware of the inherent dangers, and use
pesticides judiciously. This report only covers the training aspects and other
activities related to the pesticide safe use campaign being implemented in
Malaysia.