Re p r e s e n t i n g the Pl a n t S c i e n c e In d u s t r y
TThe
h eAfrica Stockpiles Programme
A(ASP)
frica O b s o l e t e
Obsolete stocks
OObsolete
b s o l estocks
stocks
products
t e of crop protection
Sist o c k p i l e s partnership to
stocks
a multistakeholder Obsolete crop protection products are those
• dispose of an estimated 50,000 tonnes of that are unfit for further use or for re-conditioning.
Programme
obsolete stockpiled pesticides and contami- Stocks of crop protection products become
nated waste in Africa in an environmentally obsolete mostly because of poor long-term storage
sound manner;
• catalyse the development of prevention
Managing during which the product and/or its packaging
degrades to a point where it is no longer useable
measures; and
• provide capacity building and institutional
obsolete stocks and cannot be cost–effectively reconditioned.
Obsolescence may also arise because a product
strengthening on important chemicals-
related issues
of crop protection has been de-registered locally or banned
i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y.
in a phased approach over 10 to 15 years.
products Obsolete crop protection products exist in
A large part of funding will be contributed many countries, but the largest stocks are in
through the Global Environment Facility. Eastern Europe, A f r i c a , parts of Latin A m e r i c a
The leading companies of CropLife International and the Far East. One estimate suggests that
have offered funding of up to US$ 30 million the problem could be as large as 300,000 tonnes
to contribute towards disposal costs and of obsolete materials 1. Many have been
expertise mobilisation, in active collaboration a b a n d o n e d , forgotten or even deliberately
with the World Bank, United Nations Fo o d buried by the owners. In some cases, the original
and Agriculture Organisation (FA O ) , A f r i c a n packaging is in very poor condition or has
U n i o n , W W F, Pesticide Action Network (PA N ) corroded away and the contents have leaked
and other stakeholders (see w w w. a f r i c a s t o c k- into the surrounding soil, contaminating both
p i l e s. o r g). the storage site and beyond.
The ASP brings together the skills, e x p e r t i s e,
and resources of a diverse group of stakehol-
d e r s, enabling national leadership to carry out
country-led activities. One key objective for
C r o p L i f e ’s collaboration in the A S P, a p a r t
from complete removal of all obsolete stocks
from A f r i c a , is the continent-wide reduction
of environmental and health risks from
CropLife International
Avenue Louise 143
obsolete crop protection products by ‘ m a k i n g
1050 Brussels, Belgium
s a f e ’ leaking and the most hazardous stocks
tel +32 2 542 04 10
through repackaging and appropriate storage fax +32 2 542 04 19
prior to disposal. c r o p l i f e @ c r o p l i f e. o r g
h t t p : / / w w w. c r o p l i f e. o r g
For more information on obsolete stocks, visit
CropLife International’s website
or contact k e i t h @ c r o p l i f e. o r g 1
Baseline Study on the Problem of Obsolete Pesticide Stocks.
- March 2004 - w w w. c r o p l i f e. o r g Paper prepared for the OECD-FAO-UNEP Workshop on Obsolete
Pesticides, Alexandria,Virginia, September 2000
Why What
What is being done to get rid of them?
PHow
r e vcan
e nobsolete
t i o n stocks be
Why do these stockpiles exist?
do is o fprevented in the future?
t hisThis
eduessituation,
e which began 30 or 40 years ago,
to a number of reasons, but principally:
being
Obsolete stocks can be disposed of efficiently
and safely if skilled resources are bought together
OFobrtsuno
atelly,
ethe
t eprocurement of crop protection Optimum stock and product management is
products in the developing world has changed a commercial necessity for companies and
s t• o ck
poor p i l e s and the resulting failure of
infrastructure do npictures).
(see e CropLife International and its leading Ssignificantly
t o c k sover the last years. is an area of significant expertise, being one
centralised purchasing systems to deliver
e xcropi s tprotection
? products to smallholder ? more than a decade, in partnership with national
companies have worked actively on this issue for O v e r-production from local manufacture has
reduced, centralised purchasing has given way to
element of our lifecycle approach to product
s t e w a r d s h i p. Extending that expertise to
farmers in appropriate packs and on time governments, aid agencies, international organisations private m a r k e t s, the donation of crop protection customers in developing countries represents
• poor management of stocks, whether and NGOs. Obsolete products originating from our products as development aid has sharply reduced a challenge and responsibility not only for
donated as development aid or purchased leading companies are, naturally, the focus of our and the control of strategic pests is better our industry, but also for all stakeholders
by governments, acquired for the control of efforts, but we recognise that our skills contribute to managed. who recognise the necessity of responsible
strategic pests – locusts, army worms, dealing with all obsolete stocks. Nevertheless much remains to be done, chemical use as a key component of
malarial mosquitoes We have: particularly: integrated pest and crop management and
• lack of awareness of the issue amongst • facilitated over 25 disposal projects by finding • implementation of tender guidelines to help sustainable agriculture.
national authorities and a lack of local bilateral donor funding, organising projects, governments and other stakeholders to tender
expertise and resources to dispose of supervising operations in the field or, w h e n for the right product, amount and quality We continue to seek partnerships to deal
obsolete stocks safely and effectively a p p r o p r i a t e, re-formulating useable stocks • the provision of better warehousing with the overall problem; one such partnership
• o v e r-production by local manufacturers in • provided funding, representing at least the cost • training in management of crop protection is the Africa Stockpiles Programme.
‘planned economies’. of incineration of the products that were products and their stocks
originally supplied by our leading companies • disposal of unused products and packs
Some of these stocks originate from CropLife • contributed to the safe disposal of over 3400 by farmers
International leading companies 2, others were • the regulation of the trade in counterfeit and
tonnes of obsolete stocks from developing
originally supplied by local manufacturers. sub-standard crop protection products.
c o u n t r i e s, especially A f r i c a
2
CropLife International leading companies are BASF, Bayer
• promoted initiatives in developed countries, w h e r e
CropScience, Dow AgroSciences, Dupont, FMC, Monsanto, over 5000 tonnes of obsolete products have
Sumitomo and Syngenta. The companies Cheminova, been collected from farmers.
Makhteshim Agan and Shell have also cooperated with CropLife
International to remove obsolete stocks.
Stages in the safe disposal of obsolete stocks
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Obsolete stocks discovered in The operators employed to Offloading the empty UN The barrels are labelled with Loading the barrels Containers are shipped to the Incineration in approved
a warehouse where they had remove the barrels received barrels which are approved safety instructions and into sea-freight containers. incineration plant. facilities.
been abandoned years before. training and a full set of for safe transport under the warnings.
Some barrels were leaking as protective gear, including International Maritime
a result of corrosion. respiratory masks. Dangerous Code.
Old barrels are stored
in the outer UN barrels.
Photos 1-6: Wolfgang A. Schimpf / GTZ, Germany; Photo 7: Getty Images; Photo 8: Science Photo.
