Central American Countries eliminate methyl bromide

No to pesticides

Fabiola Pomareda. Jan 29, 2004

Countries agree to eliminate methyl bromide.

The melon harvest began Dec. 8 on the Entebe farm in Nandayure, on Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast. Entebe stopped spraying methyl bromide on its crops seven years ago, because of the negative effects of the pesticide on human health and the ozone.

Entebe, however, is one of the few farms that does not use the pesticide on its lush, green fields. Throughout many of the melon farms in Costa Rica and the rest of Central America, workers — and eventually consumers — continue to be exposed to the harmful effects of methyl bromide due its widespread use.

This situation is about to change. Melon producers in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Honduras are working with their governments on agreements to phase out the use of methyl bromide by 2015. In exchange, the governments in these nations will receive resources from the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund, which is linked to reversing ozone depletion, as part of the process of eliminating the use of this pesticide worldwide.

“This fund is maintained by developed countries and in each country the project to eradicate the use of methyl bromide has different characteristics,” said Alfonso Liao, director of the Ozone Commission in Costa Rica’s Energy Ministry.

The idea is that the funds, which will vary from country to country, will be used to research new technologies and alternatives to spraying chemicals in the melon industry. Farmers are aware of the benefits of curbing the use of chemicals, given the increasing demands from consumers in developed countries to purchase environmentally friendly products.

In Honduras, the majority of melon farms are in the south of the country. Here, farmers are already testing alternatives, such as organic agriculture and grafting melons to pumpkins, which are resistant to certain pests.

At the end of 2002, Honduras committed to reducing methyl bromide consumption by 50 percent by 2005. In exchange, the country will receive $1.98 million. “There is only money until 2005, after that we are not sure if the project will continue,” said Francisco Argeñal, coordinator of the Ozone Technical Unit at the Honduran Natural Resources and Environment Secretariat.

Honduran melon producers are aware that their products will have limited access to markets if they do not adopt new techniques.

The standards of the Eurep Gap, an organization grouping together the principal retail stores in the Europe Union, demand that products such as melons, bananas and pineapples be cultivated with techniques that are environmentally friendly, guarantee strict sanitary controls and ensure workers’ rights.

In Costa Rica, melons grown by the La Costeña company have been certified for sale in the European Union after meeting the Eurep Gap criteria.

“We eliminated the use of methyl bromide long before receiving certification because of opposition to it,” said Eliécer Vargas, La Costeña’s manager. The company, which was founded in 1990, stopped using methyl bromide nine years ago, substituting it with meta sodium, another chemical that does not harm the environment.

Costa Rica announced last July that it would completely eliminate the use of methyl bromide by 2008. Nevertheless, there has been a loud outcry from some melon farmers, whose sector represents $65 million in exports each year. These farmers said the timeframe was too short to eliminate methyl bromide, which they say is the most effective way to quickly eliminate pests.

Fabio Chaverri, a researcher at the Regional Institute for Toxic Substances at the University of Costa Rica, said that while Costa Rica has reduced the levels of methyl bromide, many farmers still use it. Costa Rica reduced consumption of the chemical from 946 metric tons in 1999 to 642 metric tons in 2002.

“An estimated 85 percent of the methyl bromide imported to the country is used for melons. It is the second most widely used pesticide,” said Chaverri.

After reaching an agreement with melon growers, the Costa Rican government received $4.8 million to begin joint research with melon farmers, said Ricardo Garrón, coordinator of the National Program to Eliminate Methyl Bromide in Costa Rica.

Garrón said that the money would be used to encourage the elimination of the pesticide from the melon industry and then from other crops, such as flowers, tobacco and bananas. The plan includes a public-awareness campaign so that “little by little the public accepts the commitment to eliminate these dangerous practices and understands the harm they cause the country,” he said.

Another action will be establishing norms “to ensure there is no backtracking and that prohibitions are clearly outlined so that if a foreign company were to set up shop and want import methyl bromide they couldn’t do it,” added Garrón.

While Guatemala has also committed to eliminating methyl bromide by 2015, José Manuel Chacón, of the Guatemalan non-governmental organization Madre Selva, said no actions have been taken so far and the chemical continues to be advertised and sold to farmers.

The Dominican Republic agreed in November 2002 to eliminate the use of methyl bromide, which is employed in the flower and tobacco industries, by 2008. It will receive $922,900 from the Montreal Protocol fund.

“We have held meetings with the largest melon growers who use methyl bromide and we agreed to reduce total use by 20 percent. A public awareness campaign will get underway in 2004,” said Juan Filpo, coordinator of the Dominican government’s Ozone Commission.