MONTREAL (PasseportSanté.net), November 21, 2003 – Despite remarkable success after being implemented in several places, alternatives to the use of chemical pesticides face an uncertain future.
“It’s the same dilemma everywhere,” said Rod MacRae of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) at the “Pesticides and Health” conference held at the University of Montreal. Research and information abound, funds are sometimes available, but adoption [des nouvelles techniques] remains limited. “
Since 1995, WWF has been promoting “integrated pest management” in order to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. Integrated pest management advocates the combination of chemical and biological controls, but by favoring alternative solutions (such as transgenic plants or living organisms) and by specifying that where a chemical pesticide is required, the one presenting the least risk for environment and human health.
The concept seems to work. At the Montreal Botanical Garden, the adoption of integrated pest management has led, in just a few years, to the complete abandonment of five chemical pesticides. In the United States, transgenic toxin-secreting cotton plants have been shown to be so effective in controlling pink cotton boll worm that they are expected to occupy 96% of Arizona’s plantations next year.
“Transgenic plants have the potential to revolutionize phytoprotection,” said Jacques Brodeur, of the Horticulture Research Center at Laval University.
Some living organisms, such as bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis, have also proven their worth in this area. Of the 85 identified types of this bacterium, three are already used in integrated pest management: the first protects plants in agriculture and forestry against caterpillars, the second is used to fight against mosquitoes and black flies and the third controls certain beetles. The bacteria would also be quite safe and would only affect the target pests.
Limited popularity
Despite these successes, the popularity of integrated pest management remains modest. Sales of biopesticides and transgenic plants represent barely 2% of the global pesticide market. In the United States, at most 15% of agricultural land is managed by integrated pest management (although the technique resulted in increased profits when it was applied to the cultivation of corn, soybeans and apples) . In the United Kingdom, Austria and Denmark, this level varies between 5% and 23%. Integrated pest management is the most popular in Switzerland, since it is adopted on 95% of agricultural land. (Data for Canada were not available).
Several factors explain the reluctance of the agricultural community (which, in Quebec alone, is responsible for the use of 85% of pesticides) to change its way of doing things. Financial considerations related to the purchase of new products and the equipment they require and the training of employees, the conservative nature of the agricultural world where there is often great mistrust of new unfamiliar processes and limited availability alternative products would be all factors in the propagation of new techniques.
Some experts also argue that chemical pesticides are more and more compatible with the environment and less and less dangerous for human health, and that they also enjoy a demonstrated effectiveness. In comparison, the effectiveness of alternative solutions may vary considerably depending on ecosystems and climatic conditions, and this effect may take a few days or even weeks to be felt.
How to stimulate the adoption of alternative solutions? The Union des producteurs agricoles du Québec would like to see the government put forward a financial support program that would encourage producers to adopt integrated pest management, in particular by offering them a sharing of the financial risks resulting from a change in methods. of production.
Scientific breakthroughs could also lead to an increase in the popularity of alternative solutions. Thus, biological agents capable of resisting chemical pesticides are currently being developed, which should facilitate the joint use of two methods.
Consumers will also have a choice to make, since their attitude in this area is ambivalent to say the least. While they are increasingly aware of the dangers to health and the environment that arise from the use of chemical pesticides, they do not always realize that by demanding to find in the supermarket unblemished apples and perfectly straight carrots. , they often leave growers with no choice but to use these same chemical pesticides.
The ever-growing popularity of organic farming, however, may indicate that the tide is turning.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
