This lecture was delivered in the Brain-storming workshop organised by National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India on 17th April 2009, New Delhi

1. Synthetic Pest Management Chemicals: Issues and Strategies C. Devakumarcdevakumar@gmail.com

2. Increasing complexity between science, companies and the public

4. Pest resistance & Spurious pesticides

5. Toxicity to natural enemies and other non-target organisms

6. Public health and environmental concerns

7. Unlicensed dealers and shopkeepers

9. PMFAI Production Data of Pesticides for 2002-03

10. SKEWED PESTICIDE USAGE SCENARIO (2000-01) (37th Report of Standing Committee on Petroleum and Chemicals, 2002)

12. The industry is very fragmented with about 30-40 large manufacturers and about 400 formulators doing business with about 49 000 MT worth about Rs 4000 crores.

14. Improve controls on the use and distribution of pesticides

15. Reduce the levels of harmful pesticide active ingredients, in particular by replacing the most dangerous by safer alternatives (including non-chemical)

16. Encourage low-input or pesticide-free crop production

17. Establish a transparent system for reporting and monitoring progress including the development of appropriate indicators ● adopt mandatory use reporting systems co-coordinated centrally.

18. Consequences of injudicious use of chemical pesticides No. of weeds resistant to herbicides - No. of plant pathogens resistant to fungicides - No. of Insect pests resistant to insecticides - 48 to 270 100 to 150 >700

19. ADVERSE EFFECT ON BENEFICIAL INSECTS Croft (1990) summarized data on the impact of 400 pesticide active ingredients on over 600 species of beneficial arthropods. His basic finding was that insecticides have greater impacts than either herbicides or fungicides. However, calculation of selectivity ratio (the ratio of LD50 for target species to LD50 for nontarget species) suggested toxicity to non-target arthropods, partly because of the toxicity of synthetic pyrethroids.

21. Software tools using sophisticated probabilistic models are being generated to address the aggregate- and cumulative-exposure assessments required by FQPA of EPA.

24. Better crop husbandry

25. introduction of modern pesticide formulation and application technology which is safer, more accurate and can reduce the quantities of pesticides used including, for example, nontoxic solvents in formulations

26. use of natural enemies of pests which do not affect non-target organisms;

27. introduction of management strategies which can reduce pest problems including restriction of pesticide use only to specific situations

28. Consultation with and participation of women and men farmers to assess priorities and entry points;

34. Increase the ability and motivation of agricultural workers to lessen their exposure to potentially harmful chemicals and refine worker-protection regulations and enforce compliance with them.

35. Reduce adverse off-target effects by judicious choice of chemical agents, implementation of precision application technology and determination of economic- and environmental-impact thresholds for pesticide use in more agricultural systems.

38. The Indian companies will need to spend under R&D to meet competition from MNCs.

41. The use of dyes in formulations has received little attention but could work well.

42. One of the major advantages of dyes and odorants is that workers are provided direct information on exposures.

44. SUSPECT PESTICIDES

45. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimated that 32,800 agricultural-related injuries occurred to children or adolescents under the age of 20 who lived on, worked on, or visited a farm operation in 1998. Many of these included exposures to pesticides (NASS 1999).

46. A three-pronged strategy to reduce health impacts must include a community based process of education and provision of personal protective equipment to reduce exposure; educating farmers to enhance agro-ecosystem understanding and to reduce pesticide use; and policy intervention to restructure incentives and reduce availability of highly toxic insecticides

47. CHIRALITY WITH RESPECT TO BIOACTIVITY AND SAFETY CONSIDERATION: Fenvalerate Detailed studies on the biological activities of fenvalerate demonstrated granuloma formation in mice after long-term administration of a high dose of this pyrethroid as its stereoisomeric mixture. It was subsequently shown that the granuloma formation was caused by only one isomer (Ba: 2R, aS ) which has essentially no insecticidal activity. One of its metabolites, a cholesteryl ester, is the cause of the granuloma. Subsequently the most insecticidally active enantiopure isomer Aa (2S, aS) was purified and marketed as "esfenvalerate" a product completely devoid of granuloma induction.

48. Fenamidone, a new (imidazolinone) family of fungicide It is a pure optical isomer and as it is solely responsible for the biological activity. The physico-chemical properties make for a good all round balance for providing high bioavailability to pathogens together with respect for the environment

49. The unique mode of action, coupled with a high degree of activity on targeted pests, low toxicity to non-target organisms (including many beneficial arthropods), and resistance management properties make it an excellent new tool for integrated pest management.

50. The research screening platform

51. Strategy of identifying new targets

52. Model organisms for target identification

53. The virtual discovery cycle

54. Unique research platform – Network of complementary technologies to meet the challenges in compound discovery

55. A "life cycle" approach to pesticides management The progressive stages of the life cycle of pesticide products: manufacture, registration, import and export, transport, packaging, labeling, advertising, use, storage and disposal.

57. MANUFACTURE CHECKLIST A pesticide law should: establish rules applicable to manufacture of pesticides, including permissible locations, construction and operation requirements, occupational health conditions (following the ILO conventions), safety guidelines, anti-pollution devices, quality control and provisions for poisoning cases; establish a licensing scheme for pesticide manufacturers, including criteria for the grant or denial of the licence, conditions for the grant and provisions for suspension or revocation; • establish quality standards for manufactured pesticides, ideally using JMPS specifications; • possibly ban manufacture if necessary controls are not feasible in the national context; and • ensure that lists of banned pesticides for manufacture are in harmony with the country's international obligations.

58. STORAGE CHECKLIST A pesticide law should: specify how and where pesticide products may be stored; • differentiate between private, end-user or home storage and bulk or commercial storage; • impose record-keeping requirements on those storing pesticides; • prohibit the reuse of a pesticide container for any non-pesticide storage reason unless authorized; • indicate the type of containers required; • set out rules for the construction of storage buildings; and establish special requirements for storage of obsolete pesticide stocks.

59. SALE CHECKLIST A pesticide law should: set requirements so that only those with competency and training may be licensed to sell pesticides; and include among the decision-making criteria for the grant of a licence issues such as storage, display, training, knowledge, record-keeping, safety equipment and emergency plans.

60. COMMERCIAL OPERATORS CHECKLIST A pesticide law should: set requirements so that only those with competency and training may be licensed to apply pesticides; require pesticide contracts to specify the use of the pesticides to be applied; and include among the decision-making criteria for the grant of a licence the existence of training, supervision, adequate equipment with a maintenance programme, protective clothing, an occupational health programme and satisfactory record-keeping.

61. PACKAGING AND RE-PACKAGING CHECKLIST A pesticide law should: specify the technical requirements for packaging and re-packaging; incorporate a packaging requirement into the registration process; follow international guidelines in developing packaging rules; require packaging that is safe, will not degrade under normal conditions, does not resemble common packaging of consumable goods, has a child safety mechanism, prominently displays the approved label and is difficult or unattractive for reuse; specify the products to which the packaging requirements apply; require that packaging or re-packaging only take place on licensed premises where staff are adequately protected; prohibit the re-packaging or decanting of pesticide into food or drink containers; and • consider banning re-packaging if effective controls are not possible in the national context.

62. LABELLING AND SAFETY DATA SHEETS CHECKLISTS Pesticide labelling provisions should: apply equally to manufactured and imported pesticides; specify the information that must be contained, including,e.g. contents, formulation, proposed use, hazard classification, warnings, instructions, equipment and care, disposal, registrant,manufacturer, date of formulation, expiry date; follow international guidelines; require that labels be in the language(s) of the country and include pictorial representations adequate to the national literacy level; outline physical requirements for the label and rules for affixing labels on packages; require that labels be subject to pre-approval by the registration authority during the registration process; and to comply with the Rotterdam Convention, require that labels include the appropriate WCO customs code.

63. PESTICIDE USE CHECKLIST Governments should: enact specific provisions to prevent harm to the environment or otherwise ensure that pesticide use is covered under existing environmental legislation; prohibit the use of pesticides in an unsafe manner that poses a threat to human health or the environment; prohibit the use of pesticides in ways not prescribed by the label or contrary to conditions attached to the registration; prohibit employers from obliging employees to use pesticides in improper ways; require employers to provide necessary training and equipment to employees who handle pesticides; require employers to carry out periodic health evaluations to assess and treat any pesticide-related injury; set standards for pesticide application equipment and pesticide protective equipment; ensure that all workers, including those in agriculture, are protected under the legal framework; and create programmes to safeguard health, including through collecting data, monitoring worker health, training the health sector and establishing an information centre.

64. TRANSPORT CHECKLIST A pesticide law should: follow international standards for the transport of dangerous goods; cover the transport of pesticides; set out requirements for vehicles and containers; prohibit the transport of pesticides in the same vehicle as passengers, animals, food and animal feed; require physical separation in cases where joint transport is unavoidable; and follow Basel requirements for the transport of hazardous pesticide wastes.

65. DISPOSAL CHECKLIST

66. HARMOIZATION OF LAWS & ACTS: EXIM ACTS

67. THANK YOU THANK YOU