Table 2 Description of options generated through consensus activity

Reduce use of pesticides through promotion of IPM

Integrated Pest/Vector Management are agricultural techniques developed to reduce the use of pesticides in farming. It is based on a model of participatory farming in which groups of farmers are taught to recognise pests and their natural enemies. It brought ecological principles and social scientific perspectives together to improve crop management techniques specifically in relation to pests (FAO 1994). Farmers are encouraged to wait for thresholds to be met and then to employ strategies to manage the pest. Pesticides are not proscribed but are discouraged. Farmers work together to identify the pests and to respond as a community. IPM has been widely promoted in Sri Lanka and Farmer Field Schools have been operating for the past 10 years. The Department of Agriculture supports the use of IPM and it is promoted through the National Agriculture Policy. Promotion of IPM/IPVM has been suggested as a means of reducing the amount of synthetic pesticides and therefore the availability in the community of toxic chemicals.

Reduce use through promotion of bio-pesticides

Bio-pesticides are pesticides that contain biological control organisms. It includes use of micro-organisms (such as bacteria, fungi or viruses) or products based on plant products (such as genetic engineering of plant to resist diseases) and biochemical pesticides that use natural substances (such as insect sex pheromones to ward off pests). There are high costs associated with the research and development of the modified seeds and input costs for farmers are high. The use of bio-pesticides has been limited in Sri Lanka due to the high costs associated with their development. The use of bio-pesticides in agriculture has, potentially, a similar affect to IPM/IPVM, in that it leads to a reduced reliance on synthetic pesticides and the availability of toxic substances in the community.

Alter price through taxation or other methods

Direct influence over price can be achieved through taxation, subsidies or regulation of the price. All pesticides in Sri Lanka currently have a uniform taxation level. Subsidies have been used by the Government of Sri Lanka for other agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertiliser. Direct manipulation of price would try to provide an incentive to farmers to switch to less toxic chemicals and therefore reduce presence and use of more lethal chemicals in the community.

Safe storage of pesticides at community level

Safe storage of pesticides has been widely promoted and supported by international organisations and pesticide manufacturers. It has generally entailed the provision of a lockable storage device to limit access at the household level. Several schemes have distributed boxes in Sri Lanka and they have been found to be highly acceptable within communities. No evidence exists yet as to the effectiveness of this strategy in reducing access to pesticides within communities.

Repackaging of pesticides into non lethal doses

This option combines several ideas that had previously been suggested together. It involves repackaging specific chemicals into non lethal human doses. The packaging of pesticides is currently mandated under the Control of Pesticides Act and the Registrar of Pesticides is responsible for providing guidance to industry on formulation, size, packaging, name, label, formulation, additives and marketing. These regulations have been used to ensure appropriate safety standards are met. The aim of this option is to limit the concentration or size of packs to non lethal doses which would reduce opportunities for lethal ingestion. Specific safety measures on the packaging could be added to chemicals that were found to be popular choices in self poisoning. An additional benefit of this option is the potential to influence price through the costs incurred to industry for compliance. A recent repackaging of Paraquat following regulations on concentration levels resulted in a doubling of price to the consumer.

Training pesticide retailers

Retailers are currently regulated through the Registrar of Pesticides under the Control of Pesticides Act. Dealers must attend a training session and pass a test in order to be a registered dealer. Training currently contains information about safety and storage of pesticides. Additional training modules could be developed to help identify potential high risk customers and develop strategies to reduce access to pesticides for these people.

Regulation of advertising/marketing

Regulation of the advertising of pesticides currently sits outside of the Control of Pesticides Act other than the labelling and marketing of products. Limitations have been placed on marketing initiatives and large prizes for substantial sales, are no longer permitted. Further regulation through the use of health promotion strategies for encouraging safe use of pesticides and outlining the harm associated with ingestion could be considered.