Pesticides & Alternatives- APP to support reduction of pesticide use and risks
Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico and Kenya
Technology, tool development
Funders
ISEAL Innovations Fund
Partners
Oregon State University’s Integrated Plant Protection Center (OSU-IPPC) and the members of the IPM coalition: BCI, Bonsucro, Fairtrade, FSC, GEO Foundation, Global Coffee Platform, RSB and UTZ
Main crops in the five pilot countries, additional to tree plantations and golf fields
Crops or productive systems
Implementation dates
February 2018 to February 2019
Beneficiaries
Technicians (agronomists) that support farms, forests, and clubs to decide on pesticide use and are working with IPM coalition members
About the project
SAN is a member of the IPM Coalition, a group of organizations that aim to improve agriculture and forestry practices related to pesticides use around the world. This project is born in this context and as a support to add value to the existing database of the coalition.
The “Pesticide & Alternatives”- App is a product whose goal is to support a significant reduction of pesticide use and risks, because experience of OSU-IPPC, SAN and the IPM coalition has shown that pests affecting crops, grasses and trees are rarely controlled with the least toxic chemical options or based on integrated pest management planning.
The use of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) is common. Pesticide users - usually living or working in rural areas with no internet access - are rarely informed about pesticides’ toxicity from independent sources in a comprehensive way. Pesticide users (including farms, fields or forests verified by IPM coalition members) often receive pest control information from agrochemical companies accompanied by lack of transparency about the full range of risks and hazards of the products. Additionally, pesticide users are rarely aware of less toxic pest control alternatives.
For that reason, harness technology for improved access to toxicity information, standards’ restriction status and available registered alternatives of harmful pesticides is key to enable pest control with less negative environmental impact by technical decision-makers of farms, fields and forests.
The project will develop a mobile application that builds on the pesticides database of the Integrated Pest Management Coalition. Information will be available online and offline, in English, Spanish and Portuguese. This will include information about less-toxic pesticide alternatives registered in Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico and Kenya.
Training and on-the-ground pilot testing are some of the activities included in the project.
Outcomes
The project intent to result in a reduced use of highly hazardous pesticides on farms, fields and forests in reach of IPM coalition members via easier access to a comprehensive information package about pesticide toxicity and registered less toxic pesticide alternatives in the five proposed countries.
Information about the risks of used pesticides (toxicity profiles) and less toxic alternatives available in Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Kenya will be effectively used by technicians in their countries as a decision-making tool about least toxic pest control alternatives.