MINIMIZING THE OFFSITE IMPACT OF PESTICIDES FROM AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS A RISK BASED APPROACH

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MINIMIZING THE OFF-SITE IMPACT OF PESTICIDES FROM
AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS A RISK BASED APPROACH
A Joint Project of the
National Crop Protection Center (NCPC), U.P. Los
Baños, College, Laguna
Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research
Organization (CSIRO)
and funded by
Australian Center for International Agricultural
Research (ACIAR)
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The project is based on a risk-based approach to
provide a useful framework for balancing the
threats to the water bodies brought about by
intensive pesticide use.
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Overall Objective
To minimize the off-site impacts of pesticides
applied to field crops in the Philippines and
Australia to protect surface and ground waters
from pesticide contamination and their
undesirable effects on fisheries, river
ecosystems and human health.
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Objectives of the Project

• To develop an inventory of pesticide use patterns
  and practices under different land uses in
  selected catchments.
• To train Filipino scientists, regulators and
  catchment management personnel in risk-based
  approaches to pesticide usage in cropping
  systems.
• To develop a better understanding of the
  environmental fate and ecological impact of
  selected pesticides on land and water resources.

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Objectives of the Project

• To customize and validate Pesticide Impact Rating
  Index (PIRI) for tropical conditions
• To carry out an assessment of pesticide impact on
  water resources by taking into account the toxic
  load and transport pathways for pesticide
  migration in the selected areas
• To suggest strategies to minimize the impact of
  pesticides on land and water resources

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Objectives of the Project

• To transfer risk-based approaches and PIRI in
  particular to resource managers, particularly
  government regulators and government as well as
  NGOs involved in catchment management and IPM
  programmes in the Philippines

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Workplan

• Introduction of the risk assessment approach to
  the Philippines involving resource managers,
  NGOs, researchers and regulations.
• Inventory of pesticide use patterns and practices
  in selected catchments leading to preliminary
  risk assessment to identify pesticides requiring
  closer attention and research experiments.

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Workplan

• For the selected land use and pesticides,
  pesticide fate and ecotoxicological data would be
  generated leading to proper risk assessment.
• Final risk assessment and transfer of risk based
  approach to appropriate government agencies
  involved in policy making and resource management
  and NGOs involved in catchment management and IPM
  programmes.

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Outputs of the Project

• Introduction of a risk based approach of resource
  management and training of relevant end-users
• A scientifically sound assessment of toxic load
  threat arising from field crops to water quality
  and aquaculture.
• New knowledge on pesticide behavior and impact on
  tropical system
• Information that would empower the resource
  managers and regulations to develop strategies to
  minimize impact of pesticides on water quality.