SUNS4509 Thursday 16 September 1999

Lilongwe, Sep. 14 (IPS/Hazwell Kanjaye) -- Despite its efficiency and effectiveness in disease and pest control, African countries are making every effort to do away with methyl bromide, one of the world's ozone depleting substances.

"There is a general consensus among all African countries to phase-out methyl bromide," Charles Matabwa, Malawi's Director of Agricultural Research told IPS.

A week-long conference for Eastern and Southern Africa on phasing out the substance, which was held in the country's capital of Lilongwe, ended on Sep. 10.

"It is a gradual process, but everyone is committed and we will make it," Matabwa said.

Methyl bromide is a broad spectrum pesticide used to eliminate pests ranging from pathogenic microorganisms and nematodes found in soils, to insects and rodents infesting stored commodities, buildings, ships and aircrafts.

In many African countries, like elsewhere in the world, methyl bromide is mainly used in soil fumigation to control pests and diseases in the production of high valued cash crops like tobacco, cut flowers, strawberries and vegetables.

"It is a very versatile and convenient substance for many pest control applications. It is quite penetrative reaching pests located in relatively inaccessible locations in soil, commodities and buildings," says J.W. Klijnstra of The Netherlands Organization For Applied Scientific Research.

According to Klijnstra, depending on target pests and use situation, relatively short treatment periods ranging from a few hours to several days are required to obtain good efficacy.

But despite its importance to many economies worldwide, methyl bromide, depletes the ozone layer -- the thin segment of the earth's atmosphere which protects plant and animal life from the damaging effects of the sun's ultraviolet radiation.

The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) says when exposed to this radiation, people are at significantly higher risk of contracting skin cancer, eye cataracts and developing suppressed immune systems.

Because of its destructiveness, methyl bromide was officially listed as a controlled substance under the Copenhagen Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on ozone depleting substances in 1992.

The protocol, ratified by more than 160 countries, requires that the substance be phased out of use in developed countries by 2005 and in developing countries by 2015, except for pre-shipment and quarantine uses -- which is only a small percentage, about 22 percent of global use.

"Although Africa uses much less when compared to other regions, the consequences of a depleted ozone layer will not confine themselves to one region," says Vitalis Mugova, the ozone officer in Zimbabwe's Ministry of Mines, Environment and Tourism.

Recent estimates by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicate that 71,000 metric tonnes of methyl bromide are being used annually worldwide. According to EPA, North America is the largest user accounting for 43 percent, followed by Europe with 24 percent, then Asia, Israel and the Middle East with a combined consumption of 24 percent.

Latin America and Africa are the least users, consuming a total of nine percent -- about 17,000 metric tonnes -- of the substance which is bought mainly from Israel and the United States.

In Africa, statistics indicate that methyl bromide is used in more than 20 countries. The main consumers include Zimbabwe and Malawi with a total usage of over 2,000 metric tonnes annually, most of which is used in fumigating tobacco seed-beds.

Morocco uses 1300 metric tonnes annually for the production of vegetables, strawberries and bananas; Kenya mainly for cut flower and vegetable production; Egypt primarily for disinfestation of stored grains; and in South Africa, 1265 metric tonnes are used annually mainly in agricultural production.

"The commitment to phase-out methly bromide is there, but the challenge is to find a comparable alternative," says Samuel Raboqha, ozone officer in Lesotho's meteorological services. Lesotho used only 0.2 metric tonnes in 1994.

Research, however, indicates that to date, there is no single 'one-shot' substitute to replace methyl bromide in all its applications.Viable alternatives consist of a combination of practices and techniques to achieve satisfactory results -- something that worries some researchers.

"A combination of practices might turn out to be expensive in some countries and that can undermine farmers' confidence in us," said one participant to the Malawi meeting.

"We need strong advocacy programmes. We must reassure farmers and other users that the impact of the phase-out would not take away their livelihoods," she said.

Through the Montreal protocol, a multilateral fund was set aside to provide financial and technical assistance to developing countries in identifying, evaluating, adapting and demonstrating alternatives to methly bromide.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) are also supporting several training and extension programmes, and demonstration projects in more than 39 countries on methyl bromide alternatives.

In Zimbabwe, for example, alternatives are being tried in tobacco seed-beds; in Kenya, the focus is on alternatives for cut flower production; while in Morocco, research activities are underway to find alternatives in horticultural crops.

Besides chemicals like dazomet, dichloropropene and metam sodium, there are several non-chemical techniques which include integrated pest management practices such as sanitation, composting, planting of resistant varieties and steam treatment -- the injection of water vapour of 80 degrees celsius, in order
to kill soil pests and diseases.

"All these are viable techniques. Countries are encouraged to identify, evaluate and adapt them depending on their specific conditions. Thereafter, they can take them to the farmers," says Marta Pizano de Marquez, director of Hortitecnia, a horticultural consulting firm in Colombia.

"What is important is the willingness, and it is pleasing that we have that willingness and commitment here (in Africa)," says de Marquez, who presented a paper on how Colombia, the world's second largest exporter of flowers after The Netherlands, manages without methyl bromide.

Apart from the availability of alternatives, many African countries, like the rest of the world, are pushing for
legislations that will prohibit the production, supply and usage of methyl bromide, except for "preshipment and quarantine purposes".

"Once we all have such legislation in place, marketing and utilisation of methyl bromide will be drastically reduced and the 2015 deadline will certainly be met...," says Mugova.