The European Union has approved stricter controls on pesticides to limit their impact on human health. Caroline Muscat takes a look at their use in Malta.
Paul Busuttil, a farmer from Mġarr, frowns, deepening the wrinkles in his weather-beaten face as he digests the news. He has heard nothing about the decision on pesticides. At first, he is sceptical and then takes it in and lowers his head, resigning himself to the idea that there are powers deciding these matters that are far removed from his everyday life.
Sitting at a bar in Mġarr sipping tea from a glass, Mr Busuttil said: "I don't understand the workings that lead to such decisions and I certainly have no influence on them. But I do know that it's always the same - today they tell you this and tomorrow they tell you the opposite thing."
The farmer was referring to a time when pesticides were sold as the medicine to cure all ailments. Now, the harmful effects of pesticides on human health and the environment have come under the spotlight as the EU moves towards stricter controls on these poisonous substances regularly used for plant protection, even in Malta.
The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved a regulation earlier this month that could lead to an eventual ban on certain dangerous chemicals present in pesticides. Measures to ensure safer use in daily life will also be introduced.
By 2011, member states must implement the new legislation, after a list of permitted substances is drawn up. New plant protection products will then be licensed at a national level on the basis of this list.
The EU will be divided into three zones (north, centre and south) and Malta falls under the south zone with Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus and Portugal. Individual states will have flexibility to adopt additional conditions within their zone.
The most dangerous pesticides will be phased out over a 10-year period. In the meantime, the pesticide industry can continue to sell the hazardous chemicals until their licences expire.
The new legislation proved controversial in more ways than one as pesticide manufacturers lambasted the decision and farmers raised concerns over possible reduced yields. Environmentalists, scientists and human health specialists welcomed it as an 'environmental milestone'.
Friends of the Earth Malta chairman Martin Galea De Giovanni said the new legislation was positive for all EU citizens. "It should result in a safer environment and a reduced exposure to harmful pesticides in our daily food. This is a step in the right direction, an example being set by the EU which should be followed globally."
The concern over the use of pesticides revolves around their impact on human health. The World Health Organisation estimates that pesticides poison at least three million people a year and 200,000 people die as a result.
Research published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, based on interviews with almost 1,000 patients from Malta, Italy, Scotland, Sweden and Romania had linked exposure to pesticides with Parkinson's disease.
This link was confirmed by Pesticide Watch an on-line information resource supported by a coalition of European NGOs, which also connected pesticide exposure to asthma, cancer, as well as other neurological and developmental problems.
"One of the most serious problems of pesticide use is the drift of pesticides during spraying, which occurs at a time when windows are open and children are playing outside," FoE Malta said.
The new legislation will ban 22 chemicals that can cause cancer or cause neural, hormonal or genetic damage. Some of these chemicals are regularly used in Malta, particularly fungicides such as Mancozeb.
On average, potatoes, fresh vegetables grown in the open and under glass, vines and citrus fruit receive over four fungicide treatments from local farmers, according to the National Statistics Office. Fungicide use occurs throughout the whole season, with the main period of application occurring from April to July, reaching a peak in June.
Insecticides, which are also targeted by the new legislation, are an important aspect in citrus and stone fruit cultivation in Malta. They are also used throughout the agricultural year, although its usage peaks in the June/July period.
The NSO said that over 90 per cent of the areas treated with citrus and stone fruit were sprayed with some form of insecticide.
Local knowledge on the use and impacts of pesticides is limited. A Eurobarometer survey published last year showed that 22 per cent of Maltese citizens listed pesticides as one of the five main environmental issues on which they lacked information. In spite of that, 30 per cent listed pesticides as a main environmental concern.
While British farmers have vociferously opposed the introduction saying it will raise the price of certain types of food, no such impact is envisaged for Malta, according to the Malta Standards Authority.
MSA chairman Francis Farrugia said: "It is expected that there will be greater availability of different plant protection products, as well as reduced costs of such products for the farmer."
This move may benefit organic farming that uses natural pest and disease control and avoids the use of chemicals.
At the end of 2007, there were 12 certified producers of organic products in Malta, but they cover only 0.15 per cent of total agricultural land.
The Malta Organic and Agriculture Movement regrets that the uptake of organic farming in other European countries is not reflected in Malta: "This is mainly due to local policies that place organic farmers at a disadvantage," it claimed.
cmuscat@timesofmalta.com