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LA
TRINIDAD, Benguet—The bane of chemically oriented farming
that swept La Trinidad and parts of Benguet province in
the 1950s remains a problem, although serious efforts by
the provincial government have been under way for many
years to improve the vegetable industry and protect
farmers from the risks of pesticide use.
Known as
the salad bowl of the
Philippines,
La Trinidad produces temperate vegetables, but a large
portion of agricultural goods sold at its trading post are
delivered from Benguet towns. Vegetable farming is the
lifeline of these communities.
“We must
be consistent with good agricultural practices to make
sure our vegetable industry does not collapse,” Nestor
Fongwan, Benguet provincial governor, told farmers and
health officials of Benguet towns at the presentation of
the results of a study by the University of the
Philippines National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week.
“Governance is not about infrastructure alone. It is also
about health,” he said.
KNOWN as the salad bowl of
the Philippines, La Trinidad produces temperate
vegetables, but a large portion of agricultural goods sold
at its trading post are delivered from Benguet towns.
--MAURICIO
VICTA
The study
“Pesticide Exposure and Health Profile of Vegetable
Farmers in Benguet, CAR” is the most recent endeavor of
the province; a P1.5-million project funded by the UP-NIH
and headed by the chairman of its environmental and
occupational department, Dr. Jinky Lu.
Fongwan
had initiated the partnership with the NIH to measure
residues of pesticide and mining chemicals in the soil,
air and water of vegetable towns in the province in order
to design programs that will reverse any adverse findings.
Samples
were taken from the soil, water, air, vegetables and
fruits in La Trinidad, Kapangan, Buguias and Atok towns
last December while samples from the Itogon and Mankayan
rivers and water suspected of being polluted with cyanide
and mercury were taken for testing.
The
samples yielded showed low levels of pesticide residue,
but the matter is nevertheless to be taken seriously,
according to Fongwan. In vegetables and fruits, only seven
out of 41 vegetable and fruit samples yielded positive
results for pesticide residue. Meanwhile, out of 58 water
samples, only one was found with chlorphytos chemical.
Nineteen out of 70 soil samples yielded pesticide traces.
Fongwan
told farmers and health officials to talk to their mayors
on how to eliminate unsustainable farming practices. “We
want feedback in a month’s time,” he said.
About a
hundred farmers from each of the towns tested for
agricultural practices were tested for pesticide
poisoning, and Lu took an alarming stance on the results.
There were
more males (290) than females (253) tested, and Lu warned
that pesticides increase chances for prostate cancer,
disruption in semen quality and lowered testosterone
level. More than 50 percent were in their peak productive
years, from 35 to 50 years old.
Farmers
tested showed organophosphate poisoning from blood
samples, ranging from an alarming 87.8 percent in one town
to 11.1 percent in a more remote area. Lu said that even
low levels of organophosphate, an active ingredient in the
most commonly used pesticide, Tamaron, in the bloodstream
is alarming, as this eventually leads to loss of motor
function, muscle weakness and, at worst, paralysis.
Already, the study showed that more than 50 percent of
farmers tested experienced weakness after pesticide
exposure, and more than 90 percent fell ill because of
pesticide exposure.
Municipal
agriculturist Felicitas Ticbaen attributed pesticide
poisoning to persistent misconceptions of farmers that
mixing more beyond prescription results in more
effectivity. “The excess will only be buried in soil or be
mixed with surface water and the water table,” she said.
Lu added that pesticide particles can drift thousands of
meters from its source, becoming more concentrated as it
interacts with pollutants in the air and water, degrading
into more poisonous compounds.
Fongwan
said the province is taking every step to reduce pesticide
use, with such measures as an intensive campaign for the
rearing of predator mites.
Fongwan
also showed the BusinessMirror a water filter that has
been operational since January to make sure that water
used for strawberries and vegetables have been processed.
Lu advised
that spraying must be done in the early morning or late
afternoon, as the heat of the sun vaporizes the chemicals.
Wind also spreads the drift of the sprays.
The spread
of pesticides also depends on the weather and climate.
“This study must continue for at least five years, to
build data and track changes in response to weather and
climate. La Niña and windy weather facilitate the spread
of pesticides, too,” Lu said.
Monitoring
the decline or increase of pesticide concentration is also
needed to see the progress of government efforts in
promoting good agricultural practices. “We are also
working for the inclusion of the rest of the 13 towns of
Benguet to be included in the study,” Fongwan said.
Five
years, Lu said, will be needed to build an information
system that can produce modeling or a database that can
establish trending, especially on climate change and
pesticide use. “When trending can be established,
monitoring becomes cheaper,” she said. | 
