Replacing Chemicals with Biology: Phasing out Highly Hazardous Pesticides with Agroecology
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Replacing Chemicals with Biology: Phasing out highly hazardous pesticides with agroecology by Meriel Watts PAN International with Stephanie Williamson Replacing Chemicals with Biology: Phasing out highly hazardous pesticides with agroecology by Meriel Watts PAN International with Stephanie Williamson Copyright © Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific, 2015. All rights reserved. Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) holds the right to this publication. The publication may be cited in part as long as PAN AP is properly acknowledged as the source and PAN AP is furnished with copies of the final work where the quotation or citation appears. Comments and inquiries may be forwarded to: Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Asia and the Pacific P.O. Box 1170, Penang, 10850 Malaysia Tel: +604-657 0271 / 656 0381 Fax: +604-6583960 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.panap.net Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Watts, Meriel, with Williamson, Stephanie Replacing Chemicals with Biology: Phasing out highly hazardous pesticides with agroecology ISBN 978-983-9381-70-2 Principle author: Meriel Watts, PhD, PAN Asia and the Pacific Secondary author: Stephanie Williamson, PhD, PAN UK Additional material: Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, Resmi Deepak, Peter Crosskey, Ryan E. Galt, Stephen R. Gliessman Erik Steen Jensen, Juan Guillermo Londoño, Heather R. Putnam Aasha Ramesh, Germán Rivero, Davo Simplice Vodouhê Editorial Assistance: Kristin Schafer, PAN North America Design & Layout: Public Media Agency www.publicmediaagency.org Printer: Jutaprint Published by PAN Asia and the Pacific on behalf of PAN International Cover Photo: Woman farmer in SRI rice field Cambodia CEDAC Replacing Chemicals with Biology: Phasing out highly hazardous pesticides with agroecology By Meriel Watts (PAN Asia & the Pacific) with Stephanie Williamson (PAN UK) With chapter and case studies contributed by: v Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, Senior Scientist, PAN North America v Resmi Deepak, Agricultural Officer, State Department of Agriculture, Kerala, India v Peter Crosskey, freelance journalist and publisher of the Urban Food Chains subscription website v Ryan E. Galt, Associate Professor, Department of Human Ecology, Provost Fellow, Agricultural Sustainability Institute, University of California, Davis v Stephen R. Gliessman (Professor Emeritus of Agroecology, University of California, Santa Cruz, and Board President, Community Agroecology Network) v Prof. Erik Steen Jensen, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences v Juan Guillermo Londoño, Coffee grower, Colombia v Heather R. Putnam (Associate Director, Community Agroecology Network) v Aasha Ramesh, consultant documenting the work of Society for Rural Education and Development (SRED) v Germán Rivero, agronomist v Dr Davo Simplice Vodouhê, Director, Beninese Organisation for the Promotion of Organic Agriculture (OBEPAB) Using slashed weeds and other waste foliage to cover soil in organic ginger field contentsTable of Contents Purpose iv Acknowledgements v Executive Summary 1 SECTION A: Why Replace Chemicals with Biology? 7 1 Introduction 9 1.1 International concern about HHPs 13 1.2 Reasons for the concern about HHPs 15 1.3 Replacing HHPs with ecosystem approaches to pest management 26 2 Ecosystem approaches 28 2.1 International support for ecosystem approaches 28 2.2 What are ecosystem approaches? 35 2.3 Which one? Agroecology? Organic? Permaculture? 45 Sustainable Crop Intensification? Climate-Smart? Traditional? IPM 3 Agroecology makes sense: economically, socially 48 and environmentally 3.1 Yield increases or yield reductions? 49 3.2 Profitability 52 3.3 Pesticide reduction 54 3.4 Resilience in the face of climate change 57 3.5 Food security and food sovereignty 59 3.6 Benefits to women 61 3.7 Other socio-economic and environmental outcomes 64 SECTION B: How to Replace HHPS with Agroecology 69 4 Agroecology: Key principles and practices 71 4.1 Agroecological principles 71 4.2 Agroecological practices 77 i 5 A global case study: System of Rice Intensification (SRI) 83 5.1 Main benefits of SRI 84 5.2 Principles of SRI 87 5.3 SRI practices 87 5.4 SRI in Cambodia 91 6 Agroecology in Asia 94 6.1 India: Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture 94 6.2 India: Cultivating paddy without pesticides (Resmi Deepak) 99 6.3 India: Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum (Aasha Ramesh) 106 6.4 China: The rice-duck and rice-fish-frog systems 107 6.5 Philippines: Farmer-led sustainable organic agriculture 108 7 Agroecology in Africa 113 7.1 Benin: Productive and profitable organic cotton 113 (Stephanie Williamson and Davo Simplice Vodouhê) 7.2 Kenya: Push-pull system of pest management 124 7.3 Sahel region: Biological control in pearl millet 127 7.4 Tanzania: Climate adaption 128 8 Agroecology in Latin America 132 8.1 Central America and Colombia: Growing coffee without HHPs 132 (Stephanie Williamson) 8.2 Colombia: Agroecological coffee production 136 (Stephanie Williamson, Juan Guillermo Londoño and Germán Rivero, agronomist) 8.3 Nicaragua: Beneficial forest microorganisms in coffee production 142 (Heather R. Putnam and Stephen R. Gliessman) 8.4 Brazil: Large-scale organics combined with agroforestry 144 8.5 Costa Rica: Reduced pesticide use in vegetables (Ryan E. Galt) 145 9 Agroecology in the industrialized world 154 9.1 France: New law to promote agroecology (Peter Crosskey) 154 9.2 France: Agroecology in a joint farming enterprise 162 9.3 Europe: Cereal and legume intercropping 162 (Erik Steen Jensen and Stephanie Williamson) 9.4 USA: M&M Heath Farms, South Idaho 167 9.5 USA: Alvarez Farms, Washington 169 ii SECTION C: The Way Forward 173 10 National policy – next steps 175 10.1 A three-step process 177 10.2 Policies that provide an enabling environment 183 10.3 Removing the policies that hinder 189 11 International implications (Marcia Ishii-Eiteman) 193 11.1 Institutionalizing supportive policies: Role of international actors 195 11.2 Research, extension and education 199 11.3 Investing in agroecology: Role of funding agencies 199 and foundations 11.4 International obstacles hindering scaling up and scaling out 200 11.5 Policies to democratize the food system: A requirement for 206 successful transformation to agroecology Glossary 209 Further Resources 210 iii Purpose of book Adverse effects of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) on people and the environment have been a global concern for many years. In 2006, this was clearly expressed by the FAO Council when it recommended a progressive ban on HHPs. The concern crystallized at UNEP’s Fourth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4) in Nairobi in 2012, with the submission of a conference room paper supported by at least 65 countries and organizations. The proposed resolution included supporting “a progressive ban on HHPs and their substitution with safer alternatives”. While the resolution was not immediately adopted, countries participating in subsequent regional meetings of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) have reiterated concern about HHPs and called for more information on ecosystem-based alternatives. At SAICM’s Open-Ended Working Group in December 2014, following a call by the entire African region for a global alliance to phase-out these chemicals, it was agreed a proposal would be developed for ICCM4. The purpose of this publication is to provide information drawn from all regions to assist countries in replacing HHPs with ecosystem-based approaches to pest1 and crop management – replacing chemicals with biology. It draws together previously published and new material in a form that is accessible for policy- and decision-makers at the national and international level, as well as providing practical guidance at the farm and farm-support level. It also points out that use, and phasing out, of HHPs must be seen in the context not only of human health and environmental impacts and costs, but also in the context of food security, poverty reduction, and climate change. 1 In this book, the term pest is used to describe not just insect pests, but also weeds, crop diseases, and other invertebrates and vertebrates that can cause problems for farmers. iv Acknowledgements PAN would like to thank all those who contributed case studies to this publication. PAN would also like to acknowledge all those farmers organizations, NGOs, authors and scientists who provided information directly, whose work has been helpful in drawing this publication together, and/ or whose work has helped shift farmers away from using highly hazardous pesticides and into agroecology, including: Action Aid Asian Peasants’ Coalition Beninese Organisation for the Promotion of Organic Agriculture (OBEPAB) CEDAC Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Secunderabad Community Agroecological Network Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance Global Justice Now Greenpeace Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA) La Via Campesina MASIPAG OXFAM Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum Dr Robert Mensah, Australian Cotton Research Institute Mr Simon Ferrigno, organic and sustainable cotton expert, UK Mr Germán Riveros, agroecological agronomist, Colombia Mr Juan Guillermo Londoño, coffee farmer, Colombia and FAO We are grateful to the Bread for the World whose support has made this publication possible. Moreover, this document has also been produced with the financial assistance of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA, which has