Biological pesticides are safer

THE EDITOR: The hospitalisation of 113 children due to Malathion exposure is a dramatic reminder that all chemical pesticides are dangerous and should be handled with care. What may go unnoticed, however, is the same chemical pesticide, which is being so widely sprayed,  may be seeping into the groundwater and ending up in our drinking glasses. To make matters worse, Malathion is used for both froghopper and mosquito control. If mosquitoes were to become resistant to Malathion, as is likely with such widespread usage over the years, then an outbreak of dengue could become an epidemic, as Malathion is one of the few pesticides that can be used to control mosquitoes in area wide spraying. Who is to blame for this incident?  Is it Briko Chairman Harry Dass who is clearly misinformed about the safety of chemical pesticides and who, as a result, may not have taken the necessary precautions to avoid exposure of the school?

Or is it the Sugar Manufacturing Company Limited who insists on using Malathion though it is likely that the chemical is no longer effective against the froghopper? While both the parties have a share of the blame, another culprit in the matter is the current Government since this incident directly results from the ill-conceived shutdown of Caroni (1975) Limited. After two decades of research, Caroni (1975) Limited developed a non-toxic, environmentally friendly fungal based biological pesticide for the control of the froghopper. A mass production facility was developed in Waterloo to produce the biological pesticide and just prior to its demise, Caroni (1975) Limited started applying biological pesticide to all of its land under sugarcane cultivation. Preliminary results indicated that there was a reasonable level of control, particularly of the younger froghoppers. Thus, it was likely that continued application of the biological pesticide would have resulted in the reduction of use of chemical pesticides by Caroni (1975) Limited.

The shutdown of the company led to a cessation of the operations of the biological pesticide facility and left the private sugarcane farmers with no choice but to rely solely on chemical pesticides. Further, certain interest ensured that biological pesticides would not be a part of the new froghopper control measures, since the sugarcane industry is the largest purchaser of chemical pesticides. The total reliance of chemical pesticides for pest control goes against our National Integrated Pest Management Policy, which promotes ecologically friendly farming methods. I would like to recommend that Malathion be retained only for the control of mosquitoes to avoid any possibility of resistance developing to the chemical. I would also suggest that the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources be given the mandate to restart the biological pesticide facility to produce biological pesticide for the sugarcane industry and to research and develop biological pesticides for other food crops. We must become serious about the abuse of pesticides as the health of the nation and the environment are at stake.

PERRY POLAR
Curepe