Pes$cideUseinXiengKhouang17November,Session2AndrewBartleA,Helvetas-LURAS

•  GoalAneffec'vepluralis'cextensionsystem,whichinvolvesvariousserviceproviders,includingfarmerorganisa'ons,privatesectorandgovernment

•  FundedbytheSwissGovernment(SDC)•  ImplementedbyDepartmentofAgriculturalExtensionand

Coopera$ves(DAEC),HelvetasandSNV•  StartedJan’15.Expecteddura$on10+years•  Workingatna$onallevel,withcurrentfieldac$vi$esin

XiengKhouangandOudomxay

Whatwefoundduringourbaseline•  Themaizeboomhastransformed

theruralenvironmentinXiengKhouang

•  Lossofbiodiversityandsoilerosionissevere

•  Heavyuseofherbicideshasbecomethenorm

•  WecalleditTheToxicLandscape

Measuringherbicideuse•  SurveysorganisedbyProvincial

AgricultureOffice(PAFO)in2015•  ShopkeepersinNonghetDistrict

reportedselling95tonnesofherbicide.

•  Interviewswithfarmersshowthatapplica$onratesare4or5$mestherecommendedlevel,anduseofbannedproductsiswidespread.

•  Intotal,farmersinKhamandNonghetsprayed19millionlitresintheprevious12months.Thisincludesenoughparaquattokillonemillionpeople.

•  Ques$onshavebeenraisedaboutthisdata,butthereisagoodcorrela$onbetweenreportedsalesandapplica$onsinNonghet.

Lookingathealthimpacts•  Acuteeffectsofparaquatexposurearewellknowntofarmers:

–  burningsensa$onontheskin,intheeyes,noseandthroat–  difficultyinbreathing,muscleweakness,nausea,stomachpains–  seizures,comaanddeath.

•  Districthospitalshaverecordedsomepes$cide-relatedfatali$es,butthereisconfla$onofoccupa$onalexposureandsuicidecases.

•  Informa$oncampaignshavelimitedsuccess.Mostfarmersremainunawareoflongertermdamagecausedbypes$cidestolungs,kidneysandnervoussystem.

•  Postersdistributedbyanumberofprojectshavemadesomefarmersscaredofpossiblebirthdefects…althoughthishasques$onablerelevance.

Lookingathealthimpacts…again

SamplegroupsinXiengKhouang

SampleSize

Unacceptablelevelofpes:cideinbloodas%

Farmers 375 50

SchoolChildren 199 41

Consumers 193 55

Allgroups 767 49

Resultsofreac$vepaperfinger-bloodteststoassessabnormalserumcholinesterase.‘Unacceptable’=risky+unsafelevelsonthe4-pointscale

•  LURASorganisedbloodtestsin2016,carriedoutincoopera$onwithMinofHealthandaCSOwithpreviousexperienceofthisprocedure.

•  Approx.halfofallsamplesindicatedunacceptablelevelsofexposuretoinsec$cides.

•  Thisincludeshighlevelsinschoolchildrenandconsumers(mostofthelaterwereGovtofficials)

Rethinkingpes$cideexposure

•  ResiduetestsconductedbyLURASshowhighlevelofcontamina$ononawiderangeofimportedfruitsandvegetablesandthoseproducedlocally.

•  Onepossiblecauseoflocalcontamina$oniscarbaryl(brandname‘Sevin’),aninsec$cideusedondry-seasonvegetables

•  Furtherstudiesareneeded.Amongotherthings,weneedabeAerunderstandingofexposureroutesforchildren

•  Serumcholinesterasetestscandetectorganophosphatesandcarbamates…butnotherbicidessuchasparaquat.

•  So,weneedtofindotherexplana$onsforthehighlevelsinthebloodtestsamongconsumers.

FruitandvegetablesinXKwithhighinsec:cideresiduelevels

Apple Lychee Tomato Eggplant

Longbean Mustardgreen LeAuce Coriander

Thebigpicture•  Thegrowinguse–andmisuse–ofpes$cidesisaconcernforeverybody:

farmersandconsumers,adultsandchildren.•  Ayearago,LURASwasusingtheterm‘thetoxiclandscape’todescribethe

situa$oninthosepartsofXiengKhouangaffectedbythemaizeboom.•  Theresultsofourstudiesinthepast12monthssuggestweshouldnow

startthinkingintermsofthetoxicfoodsystem.•  Mostfarmersknowthatpes$cidesare

dangerous,butaretakingcalculatedrisksthatproducequickreturns.

•  Thefoodsystem(policies,marketstructures,landtenure,labouravailabilityetc)promotesprac$cesthataredestruc$veandunhealthy

•  Thisisnotalocalisedagriculturalproblemthatcanbesolvedbyfarmertraining.

Elementsofanintegratedresponse

Healthyandsustainablefoodsystem

Promo$ngalterna$vecroppingsystems

Enforcingpes$cideregula$ons

Improvedfoodsafety

regula$onMonitoringofpes$cideuse,residues,health

effects

Educa$onandtrainingoffarmerstoreducerisks

Consumerawarenessand

lobbying

Supportfordevelopmentoforganicandcleanmarket

systems

Land-useplanningand

zoning

Conclusion•  InXiengKhouang,LURAShascollecteddataonpes$cidesales,

applica$onrates,residuesinfruitandvegetables,andexposurelevelsasindicatedthroughbloodtests.

•  Theresultsareconsistentwithearlierstudies,butalsosuggestthateffortstoreducethemisuseofthesetoxicchemicalsoverthepastdecadehavehadlimitedimpact.

•  Thisisnotafarm-levelproblem,orevenalandscapeproblem.Itisaproblemaffec$ngtheen$refoodsystem.

•  Thereisanurgentneedforanintegratedresponse.Thisneedstoinvolveorganisa$onsresponsibleagriculture,health,educa$on,tradeandplanning.

•  FurtherdetailsareavailableintheLURASBriefingNote‘Pes'cides:ACauseofConcern’preparedbySopavanhRassapong

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