DESERT LOCUSTS: FAO'S WORK ON PESTICIDES AND OTHER

UNCLAS ROME 002555

SIPDIS


FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME

STATE FOR IO/EDA, AF/W, NEA/ENA, OES/ENV; PASS EPA
USAID FOR DCHA, OFDA GOTTLIEB AND AFR LAVELLE
USDA FOR FAS HUGHES
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH/USAID
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EAGR SENV XI XY UN FAO
SUBJECT: DESERT LOCUSTS: FAO'S WORK ON PESTICIDES AND OTHER
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

REF: (A) 04 ROME 0722; (B) 04 ROME 3979; (C) 04 ROME 3581;
(D) 05 ROME 0764 (E) 05 ROME 1451


1. Summary: In a letter dated April 16, 2005, the United
Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Director-General Jacques Diouf alerted the international
donor community to a potential problem with pesticides
overstocks in Sahelian and North African countries currently
embattling desert locusts. In this letter, FAO, as the lead
UN agency combating desert locusts, requested better
coordination and communication of pesticides donations,
noting that excess stocks potentially could pose an
environmental problem. Since the alert, FAO has been
actively monitoring pesticides stocks in affected countries
and is developing programs to protect pesticides operators
from health risks. Through informal and formal
consultations, USUN/Rome received an updated FAO pesticides
monitoring matrix for the Sahel, container crushing
programs, health monitoring teams, and farmer field school
modules on pesticides. End Summary

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Pesticides in the Sahel and Maghreb
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2. As of an FAO inventory updated July 31, a stock of 2.107
million liters is available in the Sahelian countries of
Chad (119,583),Mali (261,613),Mauritania (580,392),Niger
(232,495),and Senegal (913,905) to cover more than a worst-
case scenario. The total amount used during the 2004-2005
campaign was estimated at 2.176 million liters. During a
July 21st desert locusts donors' meeting, FAO DG Diouf
repeatedly stated that the coordination of pesticides
delivery was much harder than expected at the beginning of
operations due to numerous bilateral donations that were not
being communicated to FAO, including the 250,000 liters
Morocco's King Mohamed VI donated to Senegal in March 2005.
If excess pesticide overstocks cannot be used, either for
desert locusts or other pests, or solutions for their long-
term storage cannot be found, FAO may be forced to return
some bilateral donations to donors. In the interim, FAO is
working with donors to modify budget lines from `pesticides
purchases' to `pesticides storage construction/management'
and/or meeting other urgent needs.


3. According to a March 31 inventory, FAO indicated that
3.517 million liters are available in the Maghreb as
follows: Algeria (1,622,600); Morocco (1,545,002); and
Tunisia (350,000). Libya's inventory is not yet complete.

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Storage Facilities
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4. FAO is working on long-term pesticides storage solutions.
For example, the Government of Mauritania donated five acres
for FAO to build new facilities in Nouakchott. FAO began
the tendering process and hopes to begin construction of a
pesticide storage facility in August/September, with a
December 2005 completion date. This facility will be a
model for the construction of similar facilities in


neighboring countries.

5. Meanwhile, older storage facilities are being refurbished
in Chad (3),Mali (5),Mauritania (5),and Senegal (4) where
FAO is working with the Direction de la Protection des
Vgtaux (DPV) to rehabilitate two former fumigation
facilities at Dakar's port. The DPV is acquiring land six
kilometers outside Dakar to construct a national pesticides
center.

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Bio-friendly Pesticides
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6. Large-scale trials on the bio-pesticide metarhizium, more
commonly known as "Green Muscle," concluded successfully in
Algeria, with a 100 percent efficacy rate in a five-to-
seven-day period. A similar trial also took place in
Mauritania. Another follow-up trial taking into account
less favorable weather and environmental conditions is
currently being set up in Niger.


7. At the July 21 desert locust donors' meeting, the
director of FAO's Plant Production and Protection Division
(AGP) reported that additional ecological studies are being
conducted in Khartoum, Sudan.

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Container Crushing
g
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8. FAO reported on a large regional program to rehabilitate
pesticide containers. In Niger and Senegal, the collection
of empty pesticide drums for rinsing, crushing and recycling
has been completed, while drums are being collected in Mali,
where there may be a risk of leakage. In side meetings with
USUN/Rome, FAO staff stated that it is in consultations with
the 1) World Bank to split the costs of approximately
$300,000 for a clean-up program in Mali, and 2) the European
Commission on reallocating $350,000 in four or five country
programs for pesticide disposal.


9. During the week of July 15, two FAO staff members
traveled to Mauritania to operationalize a new container
crusher, which had arrived from the United States earlier
this summer. The crusher will be able to crush the 27,000
barrels in Mauritania within six months (approximately one
every five minutes). FAO plans to purchase additional
crushers for Mali, Senegal, Niger and Chad, with the option
that they be shared with neighboring countries.


10. From August 2-5 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, FAO will host
a regional workshop on the management of empty pesticides
containers and pesticides stocks. Representatives from 14
affected countries have been invited for a 1) practical
demonstration on cleaning and crushing empty containers; 2)
review of risk evaluation and security measures; and 3) an
overview of the implementation of national pesticides
management programs. FAO has identified a couple places in
Mauritania and Senegal where crushed barrels could be
recycled, and plans to hold a recycling workshop in Dakar


later this year. In addition, FAO is identifying a possible
metal and plastics recycler in Cote d'Ivoire.

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Health Monitoring Teams
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11. FAO is also deploying special teams to monitor the
health of workers using pesticides, the efficacy of spray
applications, and the possible side effects on water, soil,
flora and fauna. The collection of the workers' basic
health data and blood sampling has already begun in Chad,
Mali, Mauritania and Niger, and training will
be conducted
in these countries as well as Burking Faso and Senegal from
August 5-31. In conjunction with the training, FAO will
launch a publicity campaign targeted at local communities by
disseminating an information brochure in local languages.

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Farmer Field Schools and Pesticides Education
-------------- --


12. The Farmer Field School (FFS) method is a non-formal,
participatory educational approach developed in the 1990's
in Indonesia to educate farmers on ecology, soil fertility,
and plant biology. Based on the U.S. model of adult
education, FFS is an iterative method, working with farmers
to investigate and supplement their knowledge of farming
methods. An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) component was
incorporated to FFS to relieve farmers of any misconceptions
they have on insects. For example, not all insects crawling
in a rice paddy are bad, and thus farmers are taught how to
defoliate without harming the crop.


13. During the previous desert locust campaign, it is
believed that pesticides made it to the Senegal River basin.
River populations were quite vocal about the need to be more
involved in combating desert locusts. FAO is working to
include desert locust modules within FFS so as to protect
both crops and farmers in a responsible and safe way. FAO's
AGP division has committed $450,000 for a pilot project, and
is currently exploring a letter of agreement with one of the
largest nongovernmental organizations in West Africa to
interview farmers and develop a curriculum and training
materials. The pilot hopes to train 100,000 farmers in four
years in eight countries, including Senegal, Mali,
Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso. USUN/Rome will continue
to report on the desert locust component of FFS.


14. Minimize considered.

Hall


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2005ROME02555 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED