Pesticide Use

Quite frequently, pesticides are applied by untrained users who cannot read or do not understand the instructions on the label because they have not been trained. This inevitably leads to health and environmental damage, especially in developing countries. In addition, well-trained users in developing and in industrialised countries do not always follow the rules as reports in Africa, Europe, and other regions, indicate. False pesticide use is one of the main concerns of the FAO Code of Conduct if conduct; various articles deal with this issue and can be categorised as follows:
application, use and control Support Support
availability of pesticides Support
pesticide regulation

The FAO Code of Conduct about "pesticide use"

Application, use and control

1.3

The Code describes the shared responsibility of many sectors of society to work together so that the benefits to be derived from the necessary and acceptable use of pesticides are achieved without significant adverse effects on human health or the environment. To this end, all references in this Code to a government or governments shall be deemed to apply equally to regional groupings of governments for matters falling within their areas of competence.

1.7

The standards of conduct set forth in this Code:

1.7.2

assist countries which have not yet established regulatory controls on the quality and suitability of pesticide products needed in that country to promote the judicious and efficient use of such products and address the potential risks associated with their use;

3.4

Pesticide industry and traders should observe the following practices in pesticide management, especially in countries without legislation or means of implementing regulations:

3.4.1

supply only pesticides of adequate quality, packaged and labelled as appropriate for each specific market;

3.4.4

provide, with each package of pesticide, information and instructions in a form and language adequate to ensure effective use and reduce risks during handling;

3.4.6

retain an active interest in following their products to the end-user, keeping track of major uses and the occurrence of any problems arising from the use of their products, as a basis for determining the need for changes in labelling, directions for use, packaging, formulation or product availability.

3.5

Pesticides whose handling and application require the use of personal protective equipment that is uncomfortable, expensive or not readily available should be avoided, especially in the case of small-scale users in tropical climates. Preference should be given to pesticides that require inexpensive personal protective and application equipment and to procedures appropriate to the conditions under which the pesticides are to be handled and used.

3.10

Governments and the application equipment industry should develop and promote the use of pesticide application methods and equipment that pose low risks to human health and the environment and that are more efficient and cost-effective, and should conduct ongoing practical training in such activities.

4.1

Pesticide industry should:

4.1.1

ensure that each pesticide and pesticide product is adequately and effectively tested by recognised procedures and test methods so as to fully evaluate its efficacy, behaviour, fate, hazard and risk with regard to the various anticipated conditions in regions or countries of use;

4.1.5

provide, at the request of a country, methods for the analysis of any active ingredient or formulation that they manufacture, and provide the necessary analytical standards;

5.1

Governments should:

5.1.2

periodically review the pesticides marketed in their country, their acceptable uses and their availability to each sector of the public, and conduct special reviews when indicated by scientific evidence;

5.2

Even where a control scheme is in operation, pesticide industry should:

5.2.3

make every reasonable effort to reduce risks posed by pesticides by:

5.2.3.6

using containers that are not attractive to or easily opened by children, particularly for domestic use products;

5.2.4

halt sale and recall products when handling or use pose an unacceptable risk under any use directions or restrictions.

5.3

Government and industry should cooperate in further reducing risks by:

5.3.1

promoting the use of proper and affordable personal protective equipment;

5.4

To avoid unjustified confusion and alarm among the public, concerned parties should consider all available facts and should promote responsible information dissemination on pesticides and their uses.

6.1

Governments should:

6.1.1

introduce the necessary legislation for the regulation of pesticides and make provisions for its effective enforcement, including the establishment of appropriate educational, advisory, extension and health-care services, using FAO guidelines as far as possible. In so doing, they should take full account of local needs, social and economic conditions, levels of literacy, climatic conditions and availability of appropriate pesticide application and personal protective equipment;

6.1.2

strive to establish pesticide registration schemes and infrastructures under which products can be registered prior to domestic use and ensure that each pesticide product is registered before it can be made available for use;

6.1.8

collect and record data on the import, export, manufacture, formulation, quality, quantity and use of pesticides in order to assess the extent of any possible effects on human health or the environment, and to follow trends in pesticide use for economic and other purposes;

7.3

Two methods of restricting availability can be exercised by the responsible authority: not registering a product or, as a condition of registration, restricting the availability to certain groups of users in accordance with a national assessment of the hazards involved in the use of the product.

8.2

Pesticide industry should:

8.2.5

recognise that a pesticide may need to be recalled by a manufacturer and distributor when its use, as recommended, represents an unacceptable risk to human and animal health or the environment, and act accordingly;

8.2.7

ensure that persons involved in the sale of pesticides are trained adequately, hold appropriate government licences (where such licences exist) and have access to sufficient information, such as material safety data sheets, so that they are capable of providing buyers with advice on risk reduction and efficient use;

11.2

Pesticide industry should ensure that:

11.2.3

pesticides which are legally restricted to use by trained or registered operators are not publicly advertised through journals other than those catering for such operators, unless the restricted availability is clearly and prominently shown;

11.2.5

advertising does not encourage uses other than those specified on the approved label;

11.2.12

advertisements do not contain any visual representation of potentially dangerous practices, such as mixing or application without sufficient protective clothing, use near food or use by or in the vicinity of children;

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Availability of pesticides

3.1

Governments have the overall responsibility to regulate the availability, distribution and use of pesticides in their countries and should ensure the allocation of adequate resources for this mandate.

3.4

Pesticide industry and traders should observe the following practices in pesticide management, especially in countries without legislation or means of implementing regulations:

3.4.6

retain an active interest in following their products to the end-user, keeping track of major uses and the occurrence of any problems arising from the use of their products, as a basis for determining the need for changes in labelling, directions for use, packaging, formulation or product availability.

5.1

Governments should:

5.1.2

periodically review the pesticides marketed in their country, their acceptable uses and their availability to each sector of the public, and conduct special reviews when indicated by scientific evidence;

(5.1.7

provide extension and advisory services and farmers' organisations with adequate information about practical IPM strategies and methods, as well as the range of pesticide products available for use;)

7.1

Responsible authorities should give special attention to drafting rules and regulations on the availability of pesticides. These should be compatible with existing levels of user training and expertise. The parameters on which such decisions on availability are based vary widely and must be left to the discretion of each government.

7.3

Two methods of restricting availability can be exercised by the responsible authority: not registering a product or, as a condition of registration, restricting the availability to certain groups of users in accordance with a national assessment of the hazards involved in the use of the product.

7.4

Governments and industry should ensure that all pesticides made available to the general public are packaged and labelled in a manner which is consistent with the FAO guidelines on packaging and labelling and with appropriate national regulations.

7.5

Prohibition of the importation, sale and purchase of highly toxic and hazardous products, such as those included in WHO classes Ia and Ib, may be desirable if other control measures or good marketing practices are insufficient to ensure that the product can be handled with acceptable risk to the user.

11.2

Pesticide industry should ensure that:

11.2.3

pesticides which are legally restricted to use by trained or registered operators are not publicly advertised through journals other than those catering for such operators, unless the restricted availability is clearly and prominently shown;

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Pesticide Regulation

1.1

The objectives of this Code are to establish voluntary standards of conduct for all public and private entities engaged in or associated with the distribution and use of pesticides, particularly where there is inadequate or no national legislation to regulate pesticides.

1.2

The Code is designed for use within the context of national legislation as a basis whereby government authorities, pesticide manufacturers, those engaged in trade and any citizens concerned may judge whether their proposed actions and the actions of others constitute acceptable practices.

3.1

Governments have the overall responsibility to regulate the availability, distribution and use of pesticides in their countries and should ensure the allocation of adequate resources for this mandate.

3.4

Pesticide industry and traders should observe the following practices in pesticide management, especially in countries without legislation or means of implementing regulations:

3.4.1

supply only pesticides of adequate quality, packaged and labelled as appropriate for each specific market;

3.4.4

provide, with each package of pesticide, information and instructions in a form and language adequate to ensure effective use and reduce risks during handling;

3.4.6

retain an active interest in following their products to the end-user, keeping track of major uses and the occurrence of any problems arising from the use of their products, as a basis for determining the need for changes in labelling, directions for use, packaging, formulation or product availability.

3.10

Governments and the application equipment industry should develop and promote the use of pesticide application methods and equipment that pose low risks to human health and the environment and that are more efficient and cost-effective, and should conduct ongoing practical training in such activities.

6.1

Governments should:

6.1.1

introduce the necessary legislation for the regulation of pesticides and make provisions for its effective enforcement, including the establishment of appropriate educational, advisory, extension and health-care services, using FAO guidelines as far as possible. In so doing, they should take full account of local needs, social and economic conditions, levels of literacy, climatic conditions and availability of appropriate pesticide application and personal protective equipment;

6.1.2

strive to establish pesticide registration schemes and infrastructures under which products can be registered prior to domestic use and ensure that each pesticide product is registered before it can be made available for use;

7.1

Responsible authorities should give special attention to drafting rules and regulations on the availability of pesticides. These should be compatible with existing levels of user training and expertise. The parameters on which such decisions on availability are based vary widely and must be left to the discretion of each government.

7.3

Two methods of restricting availability can be exercised by the responsible authority: not registering a product or, as a condition of registration, restricting the availability to certain groups of users in accordance with a national assessment of the hazards involved in the use of the product.

7.4

Governments and industry should ensure that all pesticides made available to the general public are packaged and labelled in a manner which is consistent with the FAO guidelines on packaging and labelling and with appropriate national regulations.

8.1

Governments should:

8.1.1

develop regulations and implement licensing procedures relating to the sale of pesticides, so as to ensure that those involved are capable of providing buyers with sound advice on risk reduction and efficient use;

8.1.4

ensure that any pesticide subsidies or donations do not lead to excessive or unjustified use which may divert interest from more sustainable alternative measures.

12.2

The Code should be brought to the attention of all concerned in the regulation, manufacture, distribution and use of pesticides, so that governments, individually or in regional groupings, pesticide industry, international institutions, pesticide user organisations, agricultural commodity industries and food industry groups (such as supermarkets) that are in a position to influence good agricultural practices, understand their shared responsibilities in working together to ensure that the objectives of the Code are achieved.