Pesticide retailers are responsible for selling pesticides to end-users, while pesticide sprayers are individuals involved in the application of pesticides. The use of pesticides in agriculture plays a crucial role in ensuring crop protection and productivity. Pesticides are used widely for crop protection, pest control, and disease management, but their misuse can have serious health and environmental consequences. However, the safe and responsible use of pesticides requires effective monitoring and regulation of both pesticide retailers and pesticide sprayers.  Monitoring and regulating these entities are vital to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and ensure compliance with legal and safety requirements.

The review program was conducted to evaluate the existing policies and regulations governing the registration and monitoring of pesticide retailers and sprayers and also to identify gaps in the current system and suggest improvement that can help enhance the effectiveness of the monitoring and registration processes.

Objectives of the program

1. To foster collaboration among relevant stakeholders for effective monitoring and registration system
2. To ensure the safe and responsible use of pesticides by strengthening monitoring and registration processes.
3. To discuss issues related to registration and monitoring of pesticides retailers and sprayers.
4. To identify any gaps or shortcomings in the monitoring and registration processes.
5. To assess the effectiveness and adequacy of the current policies and regulations governing the monitoring and registration of pesticide retailers and sprayers.

Participants

Chief of District Coordination Committee

Agriculture Officers of respective municipalities

Chief of Agriculture Knowledge center

Cooperative representatives of respective municipalities.

Opening and welcoming session:

Seema B.K., project officer, welcomed the attendees and thanked them for their presence and acknowledged the need of effective monitoring and registration of pesticide retailers and sprayers. She introduced the chief guest for the meeting, Narayan Prasad Adhikari, chief of District Coordination Committee and chaired all of the participants in their respective positions.

Remarks from the chief Guest

He pointed use of pesticides as vital part of modern agriculture, enabling farmers and growers to produce higher yields and better quality of crops but the potential health and environmental risks associated with the use of pesticides cannot be ignored. It is, therefore, essential to have robust monitoring and registration procedures in place to ensure the safe and responsible use of pesticides. He stressed towards need ofrecognition the importance of this issue and taking the initiative to evaluate the existing policies and regulations governing the registration and monitoring of pesticide retailers and sprayers. It is essential to review these policies and regulations regularly to ensure that they remain effective and up-to-date with the latest scientific and technological advances.

He wished the organizers every success in this endeavor, and look forward to seeing the outcomes of this review program contribute towards a safer and more sustainable use of pesticides agriculture and other sectors.

Review of trainings and follow up to sprayers and retailers conducted by FHEN

Ms. Samana Sharma, Project manager gave short insights of project and about the previous training conducted by FHEN to pesticide retailers and sprayers. She shared change in knowledge percentage of participants in pre and post test of trainings. She also shared experience and changes of pesticide retailers and sprayers observed during follow up.

Monitoring and Registration of Pesticide Retailers and sprayers

Min Bahadur Pun, deputy chief of AKC (Agriculture Knowledge Center) facilitated this session and major highlights of this session were:

• Expressed positive aspect of Nepal Public Health Foundation towards pesticide minimization.
• Criteria for registration of pesticide retailers:
  • Must be S.L.C passed.
  • Should give application to AKC.
  • AKC act as coordinating organization to recommend application to central level and to provide training.
  • Retailers training is of 6 days provided from central level staff of PQPMC (Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Committee)
  • And finally, license is provided to them after fulfilling all of this process.
  • Group and cooperatives are kept in top priority for training recommendation.
• Nowadays cooperatives are also in the position of providing pesticide and seed service and some of them are providing pesticide service by employing agriculture technician.
• Issues in Registration and license
  • More number of application but limited registration.
  • Province can coordinate for 1 person quarterly i.e., 3 persons per year for registration.
  • License renewal process is tightened from the central level i.e., pesticide must be present in documentation and PAN of any organization (cooperatives) or individual to get license. For example, Shyam Vet forma cannot sell pesticides but Shyam agrovet form can do.
• License renewal: Should register application in AKC along with all documents and PAN and AKC recommend it to PQPMC and renewal should be done at every 2 years.

Registration of Pesticide Sprayers.

•  Mentioned in act but not in practice in province and district level.
• Need of Pesticide sprayers to be license holders and farmers must employ them for spraying pesticides for safety.
• Through effective coordination with all stakeholders, local level solely can implement it in future and can set an example through sprayer registration program and implementation.

Monitoring:

The monitoring of pesticides primarily falls under the responsibility of pesticide inspectors, specifically plant protection officers; however, their numbers are currently insufficient to meet the demand. Additionally, it is recommended that only licensed individuals should be permitted to sell pesticides, and in the event of unauthorized sales, a warning should be issued for the first offense, followed by penalties administered by pesticide inspectors for repeated violations.

Discussion

• The Agriculture officer of Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality emphasized the importance of proper identification and recommendation from the local level when it comes to pesticide retailer training. They stressed that while such training may or may not currently require a recommendation, making it compulsory to obtain a recommendation from the local level would greatly enhance the effectiveness of identifying suitable individuals or groups for the training program. The involvement of the local level in recommending suitable candidates for the training program promotes a more targeted and tailored approach. It allows for the identification of individuals or groups who have a genuine interest in becoming pesticide retailers and have the potential to contribute positively to the agricultural sector.
• The Agriculture officer of Ratnanagar Municipality emphasized that both policy implementation and support for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be compulsory alongside awareness to ensure effective safety measures.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the review program on the monitoring and registration of pesticide retailers and sprayers highlighted the need for robust monitoring procedures, effective registration systems, policy implementation, and support for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The discussions emphasized the importance of regular policy reviews, training programs, criteria for registration, and licensing of pesticide retailers and sprayers. The involvement of cooperatives and local-level recommendations was also recognized. The program provided valuable insights and recommendations for improved collaborations and sustainable pesticide management practices.

Farming, Health and Environment Project

Phase III

Nepal Public Health Foundation

12^th May