 Hello my dedicated viewers I would like to welcome you to the program agriculture on the move my name Philip Sidney your host today with me is Mr. Krithus Alexander who is our crop protection officer in the crop research division in attached to the ministry of agriculture he is not new to this program you have been here many many times he's well-versed in our discussion today and of course we are looking at pesticide awareness week welcome to the program sir thanks for having me on the program Mr. Sidney I know I know you've been very very articulate in times past because you you are you are I must say the master when it comes to to to pesticides and to give information out to the public but every year we are having you know pesticide week which is an awareness program why an awareness program why every year and why a whole week well to begin with this week the pesticide and toxic chemical control board in collaboration with other pesticide boards of the Caribbean we celebrate in pesticide awareness week and the chosen theme for pesticide awareness week is choose use alternatives to toxic household agricultural pesticides for us better life and environment our actions are our future well as we all know pesticides they are critical inputs in agricultural production there are lots of benefits from pesticide use but there are lots of these benefits as well and to make it worse we have a problem with the indiscriminate use of or pesticides so we need to make persons out there aware of yes the benefits that these benefits and how it can improve in terms of pesticide management in San Diego so hence the reason for this very important thing alternatives yes we've been using pesticides for a long time but what we have to understand is this probably 50 60 years ago pesticides to persons who are not using pesticides and pesticides basically the the growth of the those toxic pesticides in agriculture in the households as public health pesticides basically started as I said before this from the second world war so we need to make persons as I said aware of of these things so this week we haven't pesticide awareness week we're hoping that as many persons as possible though we know COVID-19 is around but we online we're having more online dissemination of the information so we're expecting that by disseminating the information to key persons like the extension officers and so on key other key persons in society the information is spread to other persons out there I recognize the the the starting of the theme it's also the same theme with World Food Day our actions our future so is it an FAO initiative ah basically as I said it's in collaboration with the CGPC but FAO we also working under the umbrella of the FAO as FAO CAFSA and so on so it may be possible that yeah that's how yeah it was this year's team is captured under this with of course other areas below it but over the years when you have had a week of pesticide awareness do you all go back and evaluate and to realize what the impact that education that awareness has brought about well yes because awareness is about change making persons aware building capacity and so on no matter yes I'm seeing they've been ideal to have as probably many persons as possible but to us the persons promoting to the modern area so we're looking at every year for the growth of this activity and we've been seeing positive benefits in terms of more persons being aware of the of pesticides out in the environment in households and so on so what are the program really for the week I mean do you have a specific I know COVID has prevented you from doing a lot but do you in the light of in light of that what are the programs well we have the your show agriculture and the move because we believe well many persons out there are watching agriculture and the move and we have more online dissemination of the information we have lots of information like videos brochures and so on that we disseminate online because that is the way to go because the face-to-face interaction is basically for the time being and who are your target audience out there our pesticide is everybody's business although we use pesticides as agricultural inputs we use pesticides at our homes we use pesticides in the hotels we use pesticides everywhere so it's everybody's business the that is your pesticide yes yeah but you are you are throughout the year I'm hoping the week of awareness is not the only activity or activities that you have to bring to the fore in terms of awareness what do you all have throughout the year to actually educate the people out there who are using pesticides the right way to use it the wrong way to use it well the department the research department on a continuous basis we have capacity building programs in the farmers on pesticide use and safety that is basically it going all the different regions we have group discussions with the farmers and so on I know schools are not in operation but when the schools who are in operation do you all actually take it to the schools to to educate the young ones so that they took and sensitize the parents and farmers yes because the I know for sure about two years ago the the environmental health division because they are represented on the pesticide and toxic chemical control board I know they had a program on some rap trap competition these are smart activities you can introduce to these schools and that program was basically teaching people about the IPM integrated pest management because everybody took on they were controlling rodents using the pesticides the clay rats and so on but if you use an integrated approach where you clean the area and you do certain things it means that the rap population will be at a population where there is there will be no need for those toxic pesticides that we are seeing out there so in other words you're looking at alternative use of that harsh chemicals yes basically the females in the choose use the alternatives because there are alternatives available to some other toxic pesticides are you referring to the organic chemicals um yes some some are organic but some some of the for example the the charcoal that we use out there you can do what is called biochar and that that can control so then so you can use your garlic now to blend the garlic you can act as a repellent right you can you can use what is called fire reflux there they are plants that will repel certain insects for you so we're looking at the alternatives but the problem with alternatives that is something new persons doesn't start to research about the alternatives so we need to do some evaluation of the alternatives as well but do you have alternatives now on the market so that the farmers can use yeah they are quite a lot of alternatives persons now are registering a lot of alternatives pesticides you have a number of alternatives on the proof pesticides in Russia okay so now to get those chemicals registered you mentioned about the the the you are registered on the board yes okay tell us the function of that board well basically the pesticide board is the regulator of pesticide in the same position you the board is responsible for pesticide registration the board is responsible for issuing the import permits to those persons who want to import the board is responsible for monitoring of those pesticides the board is because you have to to have an idea as to those persons whether they are complying with the the the pesticide act so we do continuous monitoring to especially the agri shops to find out whether some of the pesticides that are on the shelves whether they are registered or not so the board it's not a board who deal with the entire lifecycle management of the pesticide I would have like to see the board dealing with pesticide from registration to disposal so basically the board deals with importation and registration but not disposal of pesticides in the environment. Supposing there is a chemical that you are allowed to be used and over time you realize that you know they found that there are problems with it okay I know there are chemicals that are banned over in some of the other island countries and we are still using them right can you explain this well basically a pesticide can be banned in England just an exam or Australia and we still have it on the on the approved pesticide these are different conditions okay but by right after the pesticide is registered we have at registration you register the pesticide based on the information that is available right but as you know we have smart scientists out there better tools so they are able to do food assessments on the of the pesticide and it's the duty of the pesticide board to recommend it because the pesticide board cannot ban a pesticide you can recommend to the minister for banning of a pesticide but we've done this before it has worked so we're hoping that the pesticides that we have on the list after further review they are not as dangerous as some of the pesticides that we have not registered on the list okay but if there there's a chemical that definitely you all ban okay how you all get the manufacturers well the distributors to ticket off the shelves and when that is ticket off the shelves how is it being disposed for last issue disposal um after as I said is the minister that can ban the pesticide right so if you decide to to to ban a pesticide first of all you will stop the importation of the pesticide great all import permits will cease from from from this thing will not write any import permit for for such pesticide now when this is done you have to write to all the the agribusiness shops to make sure that that pesticide is not on the shelf also it will not make any sense that we ban a pesticide in central south and products coming from overseas are treated with that pesticide it means the products coming into the country treated with that pesticide will also be banned which is not it will not be allowed in the country because it's banned in central south so how do you want how do you do a surveillance on that well that is the big issue right now present as we speak I know we've hired a research um analytical chemist at our department and she's looking into this thing to to monitoring all the the the pesticides are the two make sure that the mrl because because after you use a pesticide sometimes the residue when you take that pesticide to mark that product the products are sorry to market it means you may have some residues pesticide residue on that so we have to see now you can be tested do off and on check with the market on different places and check the mrl on these products well said we'll do for our first break you are watching agriculture on the move stay tuned we'll be back soon for effective chemical treatment of black sega toka practice routine preventative maintenance of all tools and equipment especially the mist blower to ensure proper functioning clean sprayer after use and service the machine regularly as recommended by the manufacturer whenever you are using pesticides to control black sega toka disease personal protection and safety measures must be followed spray operators must always wear proper protective gear before or when handling pesticides put on your overalls respirator goggles boots and gloves to avoid contact with the skin inhalation and ingestion of pesticides for more information on how to treat and control black sega toka on your farm or in your backyard garden contact the black sega toka management unit at 451 5491 or 515894 or email bpmu at cndw.lc this message is brought to you by the ministry of agriculture in collaboration with the international cooperation and development fund of the republic of china on taiwan welcome back to the program agriculture on the move with me mr kitters alexander who is our crop protection officer and is also the registrar of pesticides here in st lucer my concern i'm sure people are asking the question leaders what is happening to a chemical that you is banned and it is still they are still in containers how are you are going to dispose of that chemical for uh for a this chemical not to be used in the future okay in st lucer i'm probably the the the the carbion you don't have the facilities to destroy the chemicals so last the last time this we had a problem with this it was through the intervention of the feu we were able to package um those chemicals those absolute chemicals and shipped to somewhere in europe for for for destruction but again if you as a as a registrar you know well you have a problem with a if a pesticide you take the the phase out approach where you try to phase out gradually phase out the chemical and when you believe well you you have sufficient information when you believe well the stock is very low you you you put the ban on the chemical so that that chemical is going to collect all the chemical and store the chemical in one location so that when a project like as i said like the feu when if you have a project on pesticide disposal they will take those pesticides to some site in europe or some other place for destruction yeah but why why why a phase of approach in the sense that if they recognize that that chemical um is toxic to to to humans and you know probably the the negative results that it has why not take it off the shelf one time why why have a phase the approach well let's that we all pesticides are dangerous correct to human health so as it's when the information becomes available that is the time you're going to take the decision against that particular pesticide okay as i said what as a at a board level what what you can do is present the case to the minister and the minister will take the decision that is the law take for example last year we had a problem with clope i refers in the bananas remember we had a problem but a number of shipments were rejected right and it took us about two months to take that particular decision but they were still using using it well they had no choice but they they could not use it because had they done so the bananas will be rejected in in europe and the the the market had already taken the decision that if they continued that that would have been it for bananas so they had no choice than to stop you know now let's assume well it was something you had to do immediately take an exam it was a very toxic pesticide that we decided well we would have removed that pesticide from the market immediately and we don't have the facilities to destroy the pesticide that's the problem with us pesticide the problem with pesticide in st lucha the caribbean underworld and some other countries is that yes we're using the pesticide but you don't have the facilities to be to destroy the pesticide if something happened it means that pesticide will have a problem in destroying the pesticide where are you going to store the pesticide you cannot dispose the some of the pesticides that we have the the normal garbage truck the solid waste management authority i don't think it's they will collect pesticides because it's very dangerous for disposing yeah yeah but in over the years um you all have been having demonstrations with the farmers for the safe use of pesticides the PPEs etc um going out there do you all still see that farmers and farmers farm workers are still not sticking and adhering to the procedures well to me that is one of the sorry stories of pesticide use in st lucha when you go out there and you see in 2021 having done so many programs on pesticide use over the years all the the data is on the on the on the pesticide label when you see persons now in 2021 applying pesticides without gloves without boots without the necessary protective clothing so you either sit myself whether all the programs that we've been having those whether it's making any sense but it's making sense because some persons are yes i get in the information that that is the point you can take the donkey to the water they're gonna force the donkey drink that that is the point so it's very sad to see persons now even this bottle there about two months ago i see a lady applying dramatic zone with one of those bottles there's puncture a few holes in the in the in the cover and then the lady had they had they had they i wonder what's happening to to us in the lucha wow in discriminate pesticide use right that is a major concern as somebody who is involved in the risk assessment of some of these pesticides but apart from from from okay the um occasional persons committing suicide by Bobby drinking but um are you all hearing of the indiscriminate use of the pesticide without PPEs people are going to the hospitals and they get sick well it's happening because sometimes you use the pesticide you feel dizzy persons say well probably just a straight headache it's the impact of the pesticides sometimes you you go go in the some of the markets in the world you consume some of the vegetables after you have a bellyache and so on yes that is pesticide poisoning persons are not aware of those things but it's happening the merchants that are selling pesticides um are they mandatory to uh sell PPEs well by um on the pesticide act it's not mandatory to sell but as the registrar you can refuse the registration of a pesticide if you think the necessary protective equipment is not available out there if you act registration you can do that you can also recall a pesticide if you believe if you have enough information to believe that yes persons are using the pesticide but it's a danger to them the level exposure is so high and the the protective equipment that is required is not available in St. Richard you can withdraw a pesticide but generally apart from being specific to a pesticide but generally do you all have or do you all ensure that the merchants that are selling those the pesticides are equipped in selling the PPEs well no for now the body is not but but but you do you think that is a serious yes as i said it's it's a very serious problem before you apply pesticide you must have all the mitigative measures in place like your protective equipment your your equipment is properly calibrated and persons don't don't look at these things even the the weather condition is also important when when you apply in the pesticide exactly so we have lots of work to do still but where where do we go with antidotes if a pesticide is registered after you have done all the the research on the background on that pesticide is there antidote for each pesticide that being produced because what happened if a pesticide is this in the pesticide you have the active ingredient that is what what is going to deliver that is what is going to control the the insect or whatever pesticide and there is what is called the inert ingredient right now that is where the problem is the secret the trade secret a manufacturer will not tell you what is the inert ingredient in a pesticide because they believe as i say it's a trade secret somebody can go ahead and use that secret to do their own pesticide okay that is an issue for us now by the the approach is this if you after using a pesticide something happened to you if the doctor if you go to the hospital the doctor will ask for the dosy on that particular pesticide if there is mass poisoning of a particular pesticide emergency persons they're going to ask for what is called the dosy that at registration every pesticide you have to the the registrant you have to present a dosy to the to the registrar so that you can review check the ecological hazards hazards on human health on animal health on the environment and so on that is critical that is a critical document that is accompanied at registration that is what the doctors and that is where they're going to get all the emergency measures to defend but but is there for example i remember some years ago when gram oxone came to the to the fore people you know people were drinking gram oxone i mean commit suicide and one of the things apparently they sued the company and because they did not have an antidote for it at the time that what is called fool right yeah they keep the call it soil which is soil really that they coated right which is which is a clear clear clear soil right because you know once again gram oxone is contact is not a systemic so when it hits the soil is is non reactive that's why it can be so so so then they use they can use soil you know one of the things that we tell people if somebody in your immediate area or immediate vicinity would drink gram oxone the best thing to do is to get soil immediately with water mix that another person drink to drink it because there is some what they call it some cation exchange capacity and then it will nullify yeah the the effect so that's what i'm saying so for gram oxone we know there is soil but we it has their pellets pellets they have it in pellet form we will not advise that person try this well that's what i was told right okay based on because the whole idea is you're trying because once you drink gram oxone immediately if you do not get you know something to to to notify this thing or neutralize it the person will die that's it for you yeah exactly so something that is why they have the antidote they call it soil right which is soil really soil that is coated so you can take it take it in so i was asking the same question with other chemicals where other chemicals have some sort of antidote right in order if with chance you inhale it you you it falls in your mouth or whatever the case may be something immediately on site should be able to assist before that person is taken to hospital yes i said several of the pesticides you have antidote but it will be indicated on the dorsi on the dorsi especially on the msd a sheet okay that is where you're going to find it let's talk about household use of aerosol spraying for mosquitoes you know i mean when i was young honestly i never took this into consideration i mean some of the aerosol they smell nice so you you know you spray and you stay in it in in in the room where it is sprayed now i mean growing up then i got to know of course the hazardous how hazardous thing is what do you all have in place to educate those persons out there um again we advise that before you use any pesticide you should read the pesticide label that is very very important right you should not buy any pesticide if it does not have a pesticide label so before you apply the pesticide you will read the pesticide label there you will know um how long the pesticide will after spray in the pesticide how long it's going to stay if you live in a house how long the pesticide is going to stay in the house how long what are some of the measures that you can take to reduce the impact of the pesticide on you right that is that that is very important you will get that on them on the pesticide label okay but as i said the issue for us i repeat is in discriminate pesticide use it's like the police you cannot police everyone in St. Lucia the information is there what i would encourage persons to do is read the label and use the pesticide according to what's on the label that's about to end you have any final words to the public well as i said before it's pesticide or when i speak a lot of persons now they have a phobia for pesticide now pesticide use you can get a lot of benefits from pesticide use and as i said earlier when you started there are lots of these benefits from pesticide impact on human health impact on the environment impact on the soil and and so on but it's very important that you follow advice if you're not sure about the pesticide you call an agricultural officer or somebody with some knowledge on pesticide use before you apply the pesticide because as i said we are killing ourselves slowly but we're not recognizing especially the farmers who decide that they want to add more to the pesticide you know in terms of their read that's a problem anyway we have come to the end of the of the program thank you for being here mr alexander and i wish you success and of course continue to educate the populace as to the indiscriminate use of pesticide thank you again it was a pleasure being here all right and i will come back as soon definitely you'll be you've been watching agriculture on the move thank you for viewing remember this this program is very interesting interesting because pesticide pesticides are dangerous very very dangerous so if you do not use properly then we will suffer the consequences anyway stay tuned we'll be back again with another program agriculture on the move eat fresh st lucas best i'm philip sydney goodbye