Status report on sugar cane agrochemicals ... - Sucre Ethique

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major problem is that the responsibility for controlling the use of agrochemicals falls upon the
farmers, who frequently lack the needed technical orientation and guidance (Andreatta 1998, 354;
de Miranda et al. 2007, 11).
A fundamental shortcoming in many developing countries is the lack of appropriate legislation
for chemical control and occupational health, as well as the absence of appropriate chemicals
approval and registration procedures. Even when such regulatory frameworks are in place, their
implementation and enforcement is frequently hampered by serious lack of resources (Brodesser
et al. 2006). In both the Nicaraguan and Brazilian cases described above, the problems have been
aggravated by turf battles and overlapping mandates between di� erent organisms responsible
for regulation and control. Underlying such di� culties are often con� icts of objectives between
the authorities in charge of economic production sectors on the one hand, and the health and
environmental authorities on the other (CPT 2003).
Price and availability of agrochemicals evidently plays an important role in determining farmers’
choices. Especially in the past, governments used to subsidise the price of agricultural inputs, in
order to promote economic growth and development of agricultural production. By reducing the
cost of agrochemicals to the farmer, these subsidies often have fostered their overuse. Moreover,
the acutely toxic pesticides are often easily available, making also their misuse easy – for instance
as suicide agents (Brodesser et al. 2006). However, reducing agrochemicals use can make good
economic sense, � rstly, by reducing the price of inputs, and secondly, by reducing households’
health expenditure. In Fiji, it was demonstrated that the farmers who used herbicides spent twice
as much on medical care as those who used other forms of weed control (Szmedra 2002).
A major impediment to reducing harmful impacts of agrochemicals is the lack of su� cient information
about the hazards among di� erent actors involved (e.g. scientists, analysts, extension
workers, decision-makers and farmers). Farmers in developing countries often do not keep written
records on the storage, handling, use and disposal of chemicals and empty containers, which
makes it di� cult to trace down their possible health and environmental impacts (Szmedra 2002).
Where chemicals registration frameworks are in place, the post-registration monitoring may nevertheless
be lacking (Brodesser et al. 2006). Also, systematic studies of the application of pesticides
in developing countries remain scarce and in-depth studies of overuse of agrochemicals
are nearly non-existent in the academic literature (Dasgupta et al. 2007). There is a frequent lack
of baseline and trend data on chemical residues in food and water as well as on plant and pest
resistance to agrochemicals. Strategies to prevent overdosing may also be absent. The local
experts and scientists may lack the ability to quickly update their skills and move from a reactive
strategy of � ghting “bush � res” to a proactive prevention. (Brodesser et al. 2006). To remedy the
problem of lacking human and � nancial resources for monitoring water quality e� orts are being
made to elaborate modelling methods, which would not require widespread real-time monitoring
of water quality (Armas et al. 2007).
<strong>Status</strong> <strong>report</strong> on sugar cane
agrochemicals management
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ETHICAL-SUGAR