Crop Protection Stewardship and Food Safety

What is Crop Protection Product Stewardship?

In crop protection products, stewardship is a holistic product life-cycle approach whereby their benefits are maximized through responsible and judicious use while risks are minimized through educating the users against indiscriminate and unscrupulous usage.
 
Why it is important in the context of FOOD SAFETY?

Food safety has emerged as one of the most critical parameters in recent years as consumers globally are becoming increasingly concerned about issues such as contamination of food andpresence of chemical residues on farm produce. Food safety also means lack of contamination by fungi and mycotoxins etc., which are controlled by pesticides leading to less opportunities for these organisms to enter the plants.Whilst, crop protection products play an important role in protecting the harvest from pests& diseases, whenused indiscriminately,thismay lead to excessive residues (beyond permissible limits). Hence, it is paramount that farmers have proper knowledge and understanding of responsible use principles, particularly, the post-harvest intervals to ensure the residues are within permissible limits.

How critical is the issue of excessive chemical residues in farm producein the context of food quality &safety?

In view of consumer health and well-being, presence of excessive levels of residues of both permitted and/or bannedchemicals in the farm produce assumes great importance. The issue is also prone to misinterpretations as residues within permissible levels are regarded as safe. However,the presence of chemical residues of unauthorized,banned, counterfeit or illegal productsis much more serious and potentially dangerous. Particularly in agricultural products destined for exports, exceedance of MRL(Maximum Residue Limits) is one of the most common reasons for rejection by importing countries. This is equally important for produce that is sold for domestic consumption, several countries have mandated limits for residues as one of the critical parameters under food quality.

What are the major causes of excessive chemical residues in farm produce?

There are several factors that may potentially cause excessive levels of chemical residues in the farm produce including:
1.    Not adopting Integrated Pest Management and Responsible Use guidelines
2.    Indiscriminate use including overdosing and unnecessary applications
3.    Useof products that are not approved under relevant regulations on certain crops
4.    Use of banned, illegal and/or counterfeit products that contain unknown compounds
5.    Not following use and dosage instructions on the product label
6.    Not following the Pre-Harvest Interval (PHI) as recommended by the manufacturers and/or mandated by relevant regulations

How does the issue of residues affect the food chain entities – farmers, food companies, governments and consumers?

It has significant implications from the perspectives of the different entities in the food chain.

For the farmers -Firstly, for farmers, particularly those that are engaged in exporting their produce, rejection of their consignments may cause huge losses and also affects their reputation and reliabilityas suppliers if they are engaged in contract farming with export marketing companies.

For the exporting companies -The same applies for the companies that are engaged in sourcing and exporting farm produce, as they will lose their credibility and potential future businesses in their import markets.

For the manufacturers of crop protection chemicals -While this may also reflect poorly on the reputation of chemical manufacturers, some opportunist groups that always vilify the crop protection industry may try to sensationalize these issuesto incite unwarranted fear and public outrage and push for blanket bans on pesticides without solid scientific evidence.

For the food processing and/or retailing companies - First and foremost, their reputation and brand image are at stake if their products manufactured using primary agricultural commodities are found to have excessive chemical residues. This will have far reaching effects on its business prospects in a country, region and possibly even globally. Secondly, they may face legal action for contravening laws pertaining to food safety and quality. Further, product recalls, if mandatory, lead to significant loss of revenues and can impact their profits greatly.

For the consumers - Concerned domestic consumers may blame the Governments for their discriminatory standards in implementing food quality legislations between exports vis-a-vis domestic consumption.

For the country - Further, the issue impacts the image and reputation of a country particularly when it aspires to become a reliable food export hub and may result in reduced international trade prospects and foreign exchange earnings. If the country’s economy is dependent significantly on exports of agro products, theseissues, if not addressed appropriately, will negatively impact jobs and may potentially lead to distress due to unemployment and other related socio-economic issues.

Why ensuring food safety is a SHARED responsibility?

Since multipleentities such as farmers, agricultural input suppliers (including fertilizer and pesticides), commodity aggregators or sourcing intermediaries, food processing or manufacturing industries, retailers, Governments and other supporting organizationsare involved in the food chain, it is impossible and unfair to hold any one entity solely responsible for ensuring food that reaches consumers is safe.

Every entity has its roles and responsibilities and can reap appropriate rewards (both monetary and non-monetary) by fulfilling these. Everyone in the food chain must contribute to ensure safe and sustainable food production to feed a fast growing population particularly in Asia, which will add about a billion people by 2050.

What are the critical success factors to ensure food safety?

The issue of excessive chemical residues in farm produce is completely preventable, particularly when farmers adopt Good Agricultural Practices with necessary support and appropriate incentives from the entities in the food value chain. Market-based incentives like certifications can play a definitive role in enabling and inspiring farmers to adopt good farming practices.

National agricultural export and trade promotion organizations and certification bodies can and must play a big role in promoting stewardship principles among farmers,whilst the private players can join hands to achieve synergy in cascading the knowledge further.

Capacity building and trainings for the agricultural extension workers in both public and private sectors is critical, which will accelerate creating awareness about stewardship and positive impacts on everyday lives of the farmers and everyone in the food chain.

Most importantly, a science-based, transparent policy and regulatory environment strongly promoting stewardship among all the players in the crop protection industry and curbing the availability of illegal or counterfeit products is critical to achieve the desired objective of ensuring food safety in a country.

What do CropLife International and its regional networks do in this regard?

Croplife International and its members are actively promoting responsible and judicious use of crop protection products and CropLife Asia, representing the federation regionally in Asia is involved in training millions of farmers over many decades inIntegrated Pest Management (IPM), which includes responsible use;safe storage of crop protection products;and Integrated Resistance Management (IRM), under the gamut of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
Initiatives focusing on the above themes are being carried out throughout Asia in many countries to raise productivity, resulting in increased incomes and profits for farmers, while minimizing the impacts on the ecosystem and human health, ensuring sustainability and contributing to improving overall rural livelihoods.

What are some of the demonstrable, on ground impacts of these projects?

Spearheading the stewardship responsibility of the industry, our initiativesglobally and in Asiacontinue to successfully demonstrateenormous benefits - both tangible and intangible - to all the stakeholders including farmers, rural societies, agri-input supply chain, Governments, the entire food value chain and consumers.

For example, the ‘Safe Tea Initiative’ in Vietnam and IPM trainings in India for Chilli farmers, helped them realize higher net returns with significant savings in input costs. By following necessary guidelines on intervals between pesticide applications,particularly prior to harvest, their produce conforms to the MRLs for exports.

Through several initiatives in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, CropLife Asia is engaged in hands-on training of farmer and their families on GAP, responsible use and IPM practices. Farmers are able to better identify beneficial insects, understand pesticide labels while purchasing and also wear appropriate personal protective equipment while spraying.

Other benefits for the farmers and the rural communitiesinclude eliminating unnecessary use of pesticide, with subsequent cost savings and safe handling when they are necessary with improved personal health and overall reduction in environmental pollution and public health hazards.

What else does the CropLife International network do besides training?

Beyond providing training, CropLife International and its regional network create educational materials and resources that several development agencies, donors, training providers, educational establishments and Government departments across Asia have adopted for their own programs.

For example, the websites of CropLife International and its regional associations contain videos, posters, manuals, infographics that are free to use for training or educational purpose by any individual or organizations.These materials are translated in various local languages according to the need and are used in several countries by many third party organizations.

Media such as radio and TV are regularly used to promote awareness on stewardship principles among the farmers.

Besides all these, new advancements in ICT (Information & Communication Technologies) including mobile platforms (e.g. SMS and Apps) are being explored to expand the reach among the relevant stakeholders.

Who else are involved in these stewardship projects?

Over the last few decades, CropLife International and its regional member associations are working with multiple partners including:
•    Farmers / Producer organizations
•    Agro retailers, Entrepreneurs
•    Food chain partners
•    Certification agencies (e.g. Global GAP)
•    Authorities from national agriculture agencies, extension services and the environment
•    International organizations like FAO, CGIAR institutes
•    Donors like USAID, World Bank
•    Development agencies like GIZ
•    A wide range of local & global NGOs

CropLife Asia continues to strive for synergistic partnerships to promote its vision to advocate a safe and sustainable food supply.

For more info visit
www.croplife.org/crop-protection/stewardship/
www.croplifeasia.org
www.farmingfirst.org
https://www.youtube.com/user/CropLifeInt