2018 RAINFOREST ALLIANCE IMPACTS REPORT
CHAPTER 6
Minimizing Pesticide Use and Risk
Pesticides are substances designed to destroy or repel pests, including insects and other animals, fungi, and weeds. The use of pesticides in agriculture is widespread, and many pests that attack tropical crops in particular are difficult to manage effectively without pesticides. For instance, the Black Sigatoka fungus, which can reduce banana yields by up to half, thrives in moist areas and is very difficult to control without agrochemicals in many banana-producing areas. Even organic agriculture, which strives to use natural processes and materials in crop and livestock production, commonly relies on a variety of synthetic and non-synthetic pesticides. Although pesticides have been associated with higher crop yields47 and reduced farm labor48, serious tradeoffs can exist. The overuse of pesticides, the application of especially toxic pesticides, and pesticide spills have serious negative consequences for the environment, farm workers, and wildlife. Indiscriminate pesticide use can also disrupt food webs and natural pest-control mechanisms (for example, pest predators and parasites), foster pests’ resistance to chemical controls, and place farmers on a treadmill of escalating chemical use that is neither environmentally nor economically sound. This section of the report evaluates the means and effectiveness of the Rainforest Alliance certification program’s efforts to minimize pesticide use and its associated risks to people, wildlife, and the environment. These include prohibiting the use of the most toxic pesticides, encouraging integrated pest management and alternative forms of pest and weed control, and protecting against pesticide spills and other forms of contamination. Chapter 4 examines requirements in the certification standard that aim to protect farmers, farm workers, and their families from the negative effects of pesticides on human health. The 2017 Rainforest Alliance Standard (and previously, the 2010 SAN Standard) prohibits the use of the most toxic pesticides—including those banned by the Stockholm Convention and the Rotterdam Convention—as well as those that are illegal or not officially registered for use in the country where the certification applicant is located. The standard also specifies that farms should have a plan to eliminate the use of World Health Organization (WHO) class-1a and -1b pesticides except under severely limited circumstances. The standard also promotes integrated pest management (IPM) – a scientifically based process to manage pests effectively through careful monitoring, prevention, the use of non-chemical pest-control measures, and the judicious application of pesticides when it is technically and economically warranted, and in a manner that minimizes risks to human health and the environment. IPM encourages natural pest-control methods, such as beneficial insects or microbes, in lieu of chemical pesticides
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