Future market for pesticide remains bright

JAKARTA (JP): Pesticide manufacturers remain optimistic about the future market for their products, despite the government's drive to implement an integrated pest management (IPM) program as Indonesia's major crop-protection policy.

"IPM is an environment-oriented system which is basically aimed at increasing the income of farmers. It is not synonymous with a ban on pesticides," said Mangara Sitanggang, the chairman of the Association of Indonesian Pesticide Manufacturers.

Speaking at a workshop of the Brussels-based Groupement International des Association Nationales de Fabricants de Produits Agrochemiques (GIFAP), Sitanggang said there was no direct correlation between IPM and the quantity of pesticides used in farming.

"In implementing IPM, the use of pesticides can be either increased or decreased, depending on the farmer's decisions and needs," he said.

The IPM program, applied by the Ministry of Agriculture in Indonesia since 1979, requires farmers to play a central role in the development and implementation of pest-control techniques and allows the government to control the use of pesticides in farming.

At the same time, however, the government has also encouraged the development of the pesticide industry to ensure a constant supply of major pesticides.

Through training programs, farmers are expected to become responsible for cultivation activities and to be capable of overcoming pest problems in the safest and most effective and efficient ways.

According to Sudarwohadi Sastrosiswojo of the Ministry of Agriculture, the IPM program is based on principles which include the growing of a healthy crop; the use and conservation of natural enemies; the conducting of routine field observations; and the education of farmers as IPM experts.

Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah, in a speech delivered by the director of the ministry's Agency for Mass Guidance Supervision (Bimas), Syamsuddin Abbas, said that, despite the implementation of IPM, up to 50 percent of the chemicals used on rice, vegetable and plantation crops are still made up of formulations restricted by government regulations.

"This means we are still running high risks, despite our concerted efforts... Untrained and unprotected farmers are applying excessive amounts of dangerous chemicals to their crops, resulting in decreased profits, risks of outbreaks of crop disease, pest resistance and negative effects on human health and the environment," Sjarifudin said.

He said that more efforts should be made to apply new generations of safe, specific pesticides.

"We regret that many producers are yet to abide by the labeling and packaging standards formally established," he said.

Zainal Arifin of the Ministry of Industry said that, currently, more than 500 pesticide products are registered in Indonesia, with a total production of approximately 180,000 tons a year.

According to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the reduced use of pesticides under IPM has boosted the country's rice yields.

IPM has also helped to save up to US$120 million in government subsidies to farmers, while pesticide-induced outbreaks of crop disease, have ceased, says the FAO.

"The production factors in farming are strictly soil, water and fertilizers. Pesticides are not a production factor and should not be seen as an instrument for increasing rice yields," said Nugroho Wienarto, a management specialist with the FAO's IPM program for Indonesia.

He called on pesticide manufacturers to be more responsible in producing their chemicals.

"(Manufacturers) take the view that, if farmers get a rash or are injured by pesticides, it is the government's responsibility. They don't care about the safety of their chemicals," he said.

GIFAP Director General K.P. Vlahodimos, said that pesticide manufacturers grouped in the organization were in full support of IPM.

"We are signatories to the FAO's code of ethics on IPM and we will abide by those rules... But when you need to produce food, you need to have knowledgeable farmers who know how to make the right decisions, including in the proper use of crop-protection products," he said. (pwn)