Farmworkers’ health matters: South Africa looks to alternatives for chemical pesticides

Insects like fall armyworm or mealybugs can decimate food and commercial crops; like their counterparts elsewhere in the world, South Africa’s small and large farmers alike use synthetic chemical pesticides to control these and other pests. But about 385 million cases of unintentional acute pesticide poisoning are reported worldwide each year, according to the Pesticide Action Network, an umbrella group of more than 600 NGOs in 90 countries campaigning to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. As researchers look for alternatives, new pesticides that use genetic technologies are raising questions about what should replace hazardous agricultural chemicals. Colette Solomon, co-director of Women on Farms Project, an organization that advocates for farm workers and farm dwellers in South Africa, says pesticides are often sprayed while female farm workers are harvesting crops. In many cases, these workers, mostly women, are not provided with gloves or other protective equipment, she told Mongabay, as hand protection is seen as impractical for the handling of delicate fruit such as grapes. “[The workers] are not provided with PPE, such as hand protection, or they’re not practical for the delicate types of work they do, leaving them to handle contaminated vines barehanded, as well as breathing in these chemicals” Solomon said. Even when agrochemicals aren’t sprayed while women are working, they must often re-enter vineyards soon after they have been sprayed, she added in an email interview, and because farm workers’ homes are often located next to vineyards, pesticides can also drift into their houses. Led by…This article was originally published on Mongabay