Environmental activists have held demonstrations in Costa Rica to protest the country’s usage of 51.2kg of pesticides per hectare of crop land, website Elpais.cr reported.

The data comes from the World Resources Institute and puts the country’s usage well ahead of the second-highest user Colombia (16.7kg) and the third-highest user the Netherlands (9.4kg).

The story cited reports from Costa Rica’s Regional Institute for Toxic Substance Studies (IRET), showing the use of agrochemicals in the country has risen without increases in agricultural land, with pesticide import growth of 340% between 1977 and 2006.

The ‘Stop Spraying’ campaign was launched in various parts of the country with the aim to raise awareness of the issue, pushing for farmers to use best practices in preparing soil, sewage and waste with fewer chemical inputs, El Pais reported.

The story reported melons are the major crop in Costa Rica that use pesticides, followed by ornamental plants, tomatoes, potatoes, pineapples and sugarcane.

Photo: www.learn.uvm.edu

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com