THE GLOBAL PESTICIDE INDUSTRY'S "SAFE USE AND HANDLING" TRAINING PROJECT IN GUATEM
International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF)
Guatemala

In 1991, the Global Crop Protection Federation (the pesticides industry's international trade association) began a voluntary pilot "Safe Use Project" in Guatemala. Used by the industry to demonstrate its commitment to product stewardship, SUP's are meant to improve health, safety, and environmental standards for pesticide users. IUF sent a researcher into the field in January 1999 to determine the effectiveness and sustainability of this programme in Guatemala. Through the research, IUF concluded that the SUP has a number of flaws that should be addressed in order to increase its effectiveness, among them a focus on numbers as opposed to the quality of training. IUF asserts that the industry programme must involve all major pesticide use groups with high exposure and that there needs to be a larger voluntary-regulatory mix and a promotion of alternatives to traditional pesticides.

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