Five keys to advance the regulation of pesticides in Chile
Although the SAG recognizes that the current regulations are one of the most demanding in Latin America, there are pending issues to reach the standards of Europe and the United States, such as the requirements to purchase products, application records and training. Experts emphasize that there is also a lack of State commitment to reduce the use of agrochemicals in the future.
International statistics show that Chile is among the countries with the highest levels of pesticide use worldwide, with a total of 10,7 kilos of agrochemicals per hectare arable per year 2009, according to the latest data available from the OECD, compared to a average of 0,21 kilos that the member countries of the organization have.
The development that fruit growing has had in the last decades is one of the factors that would explain why these figures are registered, since being a production that is oriented to exports, with phytosanitary protocols of access to the most demanding markets, it is required to be free of pests and diseases, which translates into greater pressure for the use of chemicals in the gardens.
Although the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) -the institution in charge of authorizing and overseeing the commercialization and use of agrochemicals- recognizes that there are international examples that could be incorporated to optimize the use of these products, it points out that Chile has one of the more demanding regulations in Latin America and that there is a difference in measurement parameters with the OECD indicators, so that the national figures would be lower.
"They measure the actual amount of the active ingredient that is applied, but in Chile, as a rule, pesticide distributors have to declare how much they sold, so the volume of the formulated product, which contains more elements, is reported.", explains Ignacio Figueroa, head of the safety section of the Division of Agricultural and Forestry Protection of the SAG, and anticipates that they are working on developing a system that allows to compare the data to make them comparable.
Beyond that difference, the requirements for the distribution, sale and use of these products in developed countries include aspects that at a national level have not yet been considered, since they reduce their use - in many cases due to pressure from consumer organizations and environmental- has become a State policy.
Among these requirements is to have a card that certifies that both advisors and distributors and those who apply phytosanitary, have conducted a course on product management, and the requirement of a written order to buy them, equivalent to a medical prescription, measures that would allow to have a complete traceability of agrochemicals, what until now in Chile ends in commercialization.
Added to this is the need to improve the availability of information on the sales volumes of the products, which have a lag of more than two years, between which the SAG receives them and are published as official data, which makes it difficult to take decisions and evaluations regarding public policies.
Records almost in real time
Faced with cases such as the contamination of some items of Anasac pruning paste, which occurred last year, having a detailed record of the use of agrochemicals in each farm, similar to the system used in the United States, would have allowed a diagnosis fast official of the affected hectares and farmers.
In the state of California of that country, farmers are required to report on a monthly basis how many phytosanitary products they used the previous month, what volume, in what crop, who recommended it and what for, what they complete in a standard form that is later transformed into public data, with a lag of just over a month.
«In the case of Chile, we don't know anything about that. "We have estimates of how many pesticides are applied, but if we want to know how much of a specific insecticide was used last month, for example, we do not have any information."explains Carlos Quiroz, researcher at Inia Intihuasi, an expert in integrated pest management.
In fact, from the SAG they indicate that they are just finishing processing the 2013 data, due to the cumbersome way in which they collect the information and verify that the distributors are not reporting the same product two or more times, since the figures are based in the sales of the industry and not in the use that the producers declare, as do the Californians.
"It is not easy to manage the information, because we receive it the year after it was generated and before entering it we have to see how many declared it, to see if there are missing distributors, which must be around 450 in the country", says Ignacio Figueroa.
Despite this lag in the publication of the data, adds that the SAG performs around 4.400 annual audits at the points of sale and in the fields, to corroborate that what is marketed corresponds to what the service has authorized, that the products are stored complying with the requirements established by the Ministry of Health and that those that have expired are eliminated correctly.
Require credential and recipe
As with some drugs in pharmacies, a number of countries require "recipe" or the order of an accredited advisor to sell a phytosanitary product, which specifies the type of product and the quantity, at least for those that have a higher level of toxicity or risk, which correspond to the category 1a and 1b, labeled with red color , of which in Chile they are currently commercialized around 70.
«It is an aspect that needs to be regulated in Chile, so that there is more order and control in terms of acquisition, because today anyone can recommend an agrochemical and go buy it without any paper», explains Roberto González, an entomologist at the University of Chile who advises the Association of Fruit Exporters (Asoex) on phytosanitary matters, although he assures that, in general, farmers do not abuse the use of these products.
A similar vision has Arturo Correa, who designed most of the pesticide control programs that exist today in Chile, and which is currently in Africa, in Equatorial Guinea, as an FAO consultant in this matter. "I believe that it is necessary to establish the prohibition of the free sale of pesticides for those with toxicological category 1a and 1b, II and III, so that it is carried out based on a justified technical recommendation, delivered by a trained agronomist engineer", propose.
The need to set this requirement would be that, if the purchase is not the result of a responsible recommendation, it can become a potential source of contamination of soil, water or food, not knowing what is the appropriate dose.
Regarding this point, the National Association of Manufacturers and Importers of Agricultural Phytosanitary Products (Afipa) affirm that, according to international evidence, the most effective tool for the proper use of phytosanitary products is training. "In that sense, Chile has tools such as the recognition courses for SAG applicators and requirements recently incorporated by the Ministry of Health", mentions the general manager, María Elvira Lermanda.
For his part, Ignacio Figueroa states that it is a measure that must be evaluated according to how operational it is in practice, considering the national reality. "We have seen that it is not that simple and, in my opinion, we have to see who is authorized to deliver that prescription, and that is associated with other issues"He says.
But to demand a "recipe" When purchasing a pesticide, the regulations of most of the OECD countries establish a previous step: that the distributor and the assessor, at least, have a credential that certifies that they have specialized in the management of phytosanitary products, something that It is also required for who will apply the product.
In Chile, the SAG also delivers this card to those who carry out courses that offer pesticide management, but having that document is not a mandatory requirement and is seen as a difficult measure to implement, because there are more than 300 thousand productive units . However, since the program exists, the organization has already delivered around 50 a thousand credentials of pesticide applicators in the country.
Monitor the equipment
Another relevant aspect that remains to be regulated in the country, which not only aims to reduce risks for people, but also to greater efficiency and productivity, is the state of machinery and equipment used for applications.
At Afipa they recognize that it is a priority for the product management to be efficient and that risks to health and the environment are minimized, because even if all the indications on the labels are met, if a device is not well calibrated, the application will not be done correctly. "All measures aimed at improving the efficiency of the application and minimizing risks would be a significant contribution to productivity and safety", says María Elvira Lermanda.
In at least 20 European countries, for example, inspection of all hydraulic sprayers and their calibration is now mandatory, and even in the European Commission it has been established that, by 2020, these inspections should be carried out at the latest every five years.
As part of a complete proposal of regulations that should be incorporated in pesticides in Chile, Arturo Correa and Carlos Quiroz state that, in this specific area, technical standards should be established that have to meet the spraying equipment, in addition to setting protocols officers to review and train specialized inspectors to oversee them.
They also propose that each user should register the machines and equipment they use to apply pesticides and that, if they comply with the inspection, they receive a certification and a badge to stick it on the devices.
Integrated management
The monitoring that each farmer continues on his farm is also key to reduce the use of pesticides, since in many the concept of "prevention is better than cure" and apply agrochemicals without it being necessary, especially in the case of insecticides.
Although he stresses that the turnaround that must be given is not necessarily to dispense with these products or to change to an organic production system, Carlos Quiroz believes that it is necessary to incorporate measures such as biological control of insects and monitor in more detail the conditions of humidity and temperature.
«Pesticides are absolutely necessary, but many times there are applications that are unnecessary and that are made to sleep peacefully. The thing is that monitoring and keeping records can be more cumbersome for producers, so it is important that there is official support to promote it."He says.
As for the results, Quiroz comments that INIA made a study with table grapes and apples with their main diseases, powdery mildew and the success, respectively, following the environmental conditions that could propitiate them, with which they managed to reduce the amount of applications of agrochemicals.
However, Roberto González argues that the biggest limitation for farmers is the fear of being left out of a market because they have a plague or disease, because sanctions in the countries are worse when they receive it than the residue of a pesticide. "None of the producers want to take risks, but good agricultural practices have been prevailing in Chile for more than two decades, such as integrated pest management, and we do not exaggerate or abuse the use of products"he insists.
María Elvira Lermanda adds that, from 2001, the organization is promoting training in integrated pest management, mainly between the regions of Valparaíso and Maule, where only in 2014 6.300 agricultural workers participated.
Real State Commitment
Last year, France presented a plan that seeks to reduce the use of agrochemicals in 50% to 2025 year, which must reach at least a 20% reduction in 2020, with measures that include bonuses and penalties for those who do not achieve the objective , something similar to what in some countries has been implemented for energy savings.
Although in many cases these requirements arise from a demand on the part of consumers, from Chile it is also seen as an element of competitiveness, especially for the export of fruits, which has Europe and other markets that are following this type of initiative. among its main destinations.
«There has been progress in the general framework of a national safety and pesticides policy, and in the generation of good practices for the use of these products, which lays the foundations for a country perspective. However, it is time to improve the work in the small area, carrying out more conductive actions that effectively mark the beginning of a second stage.", proposes Arturo Correa.
In this sense, the researcher Carlos Quiroz believes that it is pending that stimuli be established and a real commitment of the State in this matter, since it is very unlikely that the changes that are required by farmers on their own initiative.
"At the INIA we have made recommendations to reduce the use of pesticides, but if there is no State endorsement, it is very difficult for them to incorporate it, because they are also things that have their risks.", he explains, adding that the development of public policies in this area should also be seen as a plus for the country, which has already gained international prestige in the export of fruit and should maintain its level of competitiveness in the future.
In the SAG they recognize that there are pending challenges and that they can always improve in the regulations and requirements for pesticides, but they emphasize that Chile is recognized in the region and that they participate in the different working groups that exist in the country on the subject. «Chile is a showcase and has a very good standard. We train our counterparts from other countries and that is because they are seeing that the regulations, which can always be improved, are being made in a way that tends to achieve greater safety in the use of products. You can always do something more, but whether it is done faster or slower depends on other factors., says Ignacio Figueroa.
4.400 audits carried out annually by the SAG, both agrochemical distributors and farmers.
US$ 6.300 million invests the world agrochemical industry per year in R & D. Within ten years 30 would launch new products.
Source: Revista del Campo
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