The Pesticide Control Board of the Ministry of Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security will have as its highlight activity this week the observance of Pesticide Awareness Week commencing September 27 and will run until Oct 3 2020. This year, the theme chosen by the Coordinating Groups of Pesticide Control Boards of the Caribbean is “PPE for COVID 19, PPE for Pesticide Use, Health and Safety for All”.
COVID 19 has demanded that an increased awareness and benefits of the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and also that a heightened level of protection is adhered to ensure personal safety for frontline and health workers. It also has made farmers adopt the methodologies which the Board and the Ministry has been advocating for decades: stricter methods of undertaking farm maintenance and farm labour, that is suiting up before pesticides of any kind is being administered.
Due to the pandemic a number of changes have been made to the way in which the information and awareness is disseminated to mark this observance. These include:
Radio programmes – (Media Release, DBS RADIO Espeweans Kweyol, DBS RADIO Talking Point, KAIRI FM’sThe Heng; Q95 MATT IN THE MORNING)
TV News Release and Program (GIS Channel 7 discussion and video on PROPER USE OF PPE
School outreach programme – Visits will be made to primary and secondary schools sensitizing the students on Pesticide Management, Safety.
When one read of farmers in the USA being compensated for contracting cancer from some of these herbicide, one cannot help but to wander if farmers in Dominica have not been affected in the same way. Which would mean that they should be compensated also.
In the picture shown there is no protective hand gear and the gentleman is wearing short sleeves. I am therefore assuming whatever he is spraying or spreading, is safe in that regard. Just an observation out of concern, not a criticism.
It is important that the ban on dangerous pesticides such as round-up be enforced.
Anything that can be done to help protect the people who produce food for the people has to be applauded. However the authorities also need to drive home the point that farmers must reduce the amount of pesticides in the food that comes off their land. Food produced in Dominica have excessive amounts of chemicals that are killing people.
All the information we need to know re pesticides are not known by many of the users. The protective device is important, but we need to know about the linkage between many pesticides and cancers. We need to know the lifespan of some of the pesticides in the soil..Are the products of a pesticide saturated soil fit for human consumption? What happens when some people combine pesticides before use? What happens when it sips into our rivers? Rumour has it that a group of people on island, from a particular Caricom country uses pesticides in an unrestrained manner. You all need to talk to this group.
I think the ordinary man needs to know a lot!!!