Third Stakeholder Forum Convenes:
Participants Formulate Results-Oriented Recommendations
The Third Stakeholder Forum of the Africa Stockpiles Programme (ASP) was held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during October 15-17, 2008. The Forum, an annual event, brings ASP stakeholders together, to meet, share experiences, and discuss ways in which to increase the effectiveness of the ASP partnership.
The Forum was inaugurated by H.E. Abera Derassa, State Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Government of Ethiopia. The Minister welcomed participants, and underlined the importance of the ASP partnership for sustainable agricultural development in Ethiopia. Mr. Edward F. Dwumfour, World Bank Senior Environmental Specialist in the Addis Ababa Office welcomed participants, and spoke of the importance the World Bank attaches to the ASP partnership.
A highlight of the inaugural session was an overarching presentation by Peter Kenmore, Chief of FAO’s Plant Protection Service. His presentation, armed with facts, figures, and anecdotes, described the prevailing situation in many developing countries where pesticide safety is far from optimal, and showed that excessive use of pesticides has done little to boost yields while ending up causing pollution. He said the Asian example amply demonstrates that reducing pesticide use can positively affect human health and improve environmental and economic outcomes, without decreasing food production.
This year’s Forum featured a novel format in that it gave equal importance given to prevention and disposal activities, responding to the recommendation of the previous forum. Accordingly, the program was modified, and October 15 was designated ‘Disposal Day’ and October 16 as ‘Prevention Day.’ Friday, October 17 was devoted to summing up and looking forward sessions.
Disposal Day
This session was co-chaired by Drs. Berhe Gebre Egziabher and Ato Fikre Markos from the Ethiopia’s Animal & Plant Health Regulatory Department in the Ministry of Agriculture. It featured presentations by different Project
B. -->Safety First: The Minister from Tanzania demonstrates protective clothing for pesticide repackaging.
Management Units (PMUs) demonstrating ASP’s strength and vitality on the ground. Safeguarding operations have been completed in six regions in Mali, while Tanzania and Mozambique have each shipped 110 and 310 tons of obsolete pesticides for safe disposal. Furthermore, inventories are in progress in Ethiopia and Morocco.
A recurring theme emerging from the PMU presentations was the importance of increasing awareness among farmers about the dangers posed by obsolete pesticides. As awareness increased, farmers were more willing to declare new stocks. Presenters also raised the issue of long term solutions for pesticide wastes, and the example from South Africa (see related article) was of great interest. Participants highlighted the need for legislation to ensure that private owners took full responsibility for safe management and disposal of their pesticide wastes.
Prevention Day
This session featured “Prevention” as the overarching theme, and was chaired by Dr Emheru (of the ASP NGO Network in Ethiopia) and Dr Eshetu Ahmed (Chair, Pesticide Research Committee of the Institute of Agricultural Research, Ethiopia).
The lead presentation by Chris Waller of CropLife International touched on the key issues concerning actions to prevent accumulation of pesticides. He presented an industry perspective on the problem of counterfeit and illegal products, and the repackaging and sale of banned products, both of which are a growing concern.
Additional presentations featured ‘headline’ themes of ASP’s country prevention activities, including an overview of Moroccan pesticide legislation, and the showcasing of a project in Eritrea that has adopted this approach and completed its National Prevention Action Plan. The four key elements of prevention components that have been proposed for all ASP projects include legislation, pesticide management and the International Code of Conduct, pest management and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and communications.
A presentation by FAO described the Desert Locust Pesticide Management Programme, and placed the issue of obsolete stocks firmly in the context of implementation of the International Code of Conduct; the innovative Pesticide Stock Management System helps to move stocks to new outbreak areas.
An interesting presentation from the host country, Ethiopia, provided an overview of IPM activities in the Rift Valley that used the ‘farmer field school’ training approach. The program involved over 500 farmers, and post-training evaluation showed a 100 percent reduction in pesticide use, together with gains in yields and profits due to IPM.
A presentation on communications compared the ‘ideal’ one- or two-step theory of communications with the actual situation in the ASP where targeting is needed for multiple messages, multiple audiences, and multiple levels of understanding. These issues are being addressed in the ASP communication strategy.
Looking Forward
An independent evaluation of the first phase of ASP operations is underway, and a final report is expected early in 2009. In conducting the evaluation, COWI, the consulting firm has reached out to ASP partners in phase one countries. Denis Jordy of the World Bank gave a presentation on the funding gap in phase one operations, and the tremendous funding challenges that lie ahead for phase two operations. Kevin Helps provided a summary of progress on development of Phase 2, with approval by GEF in June 2009 and commencement of the first stage by mid-2010.
In summary, the Forum provided an excellent opportunity for ASP stakeholders to meet and chart plans for strengthening the ASP partnership, and increasing the impact of its work across the continent.
A detailed summary of the Addis Ababa forum will be posted shortly on the ASP website.
