In light of the emergence of the TR4 strain in Asia, Africa and the Middle East recommendations have been made to take preventive measures in cultivations of the crop in Latin America.
From a statement from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation:
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has urged countries to intensify supervision, information and prevention of one of the most destructive diseases for banana cultivation in the world, Fusarium wilt (or Fusariosis), which recently spread from Asia to Africa and the Middle East, and could potentially affect Latin America.
The union estimates that 30,000 hectares need to be renewed each year, at a cost of $5,000 for each hectare planted with new trees.
Producers want to improve crop productivity and for this they need funding to rejuvenate coffee farms and fertilize the soil.
In the view of Sergio Ticas, President of the Coffee Association "if the work is done on 30,000 fields each year, production will be two million quintals in a period of four years.
The coffee crisis has led farmers to diversify their crops by sowing fine aroma cocoa for export to the European market.
Producers in the Cooperative Cacao Society of El Salvador (ES-Cacao) have pointed out that this year they plan to surpass the 175,00 fine cocoa plants already planted and export their production for the first time, to the European chocolate industry.
Soybeans, corn and cotton are the main GM crops in Brazil, a country that accepts and promotes genetically modified foods.
In Brazil the number of hectares planted with genetically modified soybeans, corn and cotton amounts to 36.6 million, varieties of crops which according to producers reduce costs, increase production and generate higher profits.
The abstention of countries such as Germany and Belgium in voting against the cultivation of genetically modified corn marks a before and after period for the use of genetically modified foods.
The EU is going to authorize the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) maize TC1507 belonging to the U.S. group Pioneer, said the European Commission.
Three neonicotinoid pesticides used in growing plants and cereals have been banned because they are considered harmful to bees.
Prensa.com reports that "the products in question are clothianidin and imidacloprid, produced by Bayer, and thiamethoxam, manufactured by the Swiss firm Syngenta, who has appealed against the ban before the European Court."
The Legislature will not accept Presidential comments on Act 53 which prohibits the use of agrochemicals, and will only increase the timeframe for their withdrawal.
The Committee on the Environment and Climate Change in Congress has set a deadline of one year for a ban on the sale of the pesticide "Paraquat" and two years for other products.
From a press release issued by the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador:
Congress supports the sale of 11 out of 53 of the banned pesticides but experts believe that these are the ones that cause the most damage.
MPs "... still have not reached an agreement regarding the comments made by the President, Mauricio Funes, on a reform to the Law on Control of Pesticides, Fertilizers and Products for Agricultural Use", noted an article in Laprensagrafica.com .
President Funes sent the Law on Pesticide Control back to Congress, arguing the need to adapt it to reality.
From a press release from the Presidency of El Salvador:
The President, Mauricio Funes, using his constitutional powers, sent today to the Legislature observations on Legislative Decree No. 473, regarding the amendments to the Law on the Control of Pesticides, Fertilizers and Products for Agricultural Use.
Businessmen from the Salvadoran agricultural sector remarked that the measure could cause a 60% drop in production.
The warning came from the international organization CropLife, which is a member of the Agricultural Suppliers Association (APA) of El Salvador. "The FAO has said that without the use of pesticides, you run the risk of losing between 40% and 60% of the harvest, and this not only true in El Salvador, but around the world," said Martin Zuniga, CropLife regional director for Central America and the Caribbean.
Salvadoran coffee growers have asked for a review of the rule stating that there arent any alternative measures which provide the same levels of efficiency and coverage.
According to the president of the Association of Coffee Producers (ABECAFE), Carlos Borgonovo, the congressional initiative threatens the quality and quantity of the grain harvest. "At the moment there is no substitute, we would have to order in from an international laboratory," said Borgonovo referring to the chemical endosulfan. This product is used for controlling the coffee berry borer pest.
Despite opinions to the contrary, the new law includes Paraquat, Glyphosate and Endosulfan in the list of chemicals banned from use in agricultural production.
From a press release by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources:
With 45 votes in favor, members of the FMLN, Unidos por El salvador and GANA approved the amendment of a Law on the control of pesticides, fertilizers and products for agricultural use, which allows the prohibition of 53 chemicals in El Salvador.
In the European Union the maximum level of perchlorate in fruits and vegetables is 0.5 mg / kg, and 0.2 mg / kg in citrus fruits, tubers, grapes, spinach, melons and watermelons.
From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health of the European Union has agreed to set maximum permitted levels of perchlorate in food and has asked all member states of the European Union and traders to monitor compliance with these standards, especially in the case of fruits and vegetables from greenhouses.
The European Commission has decided to restrict the use of three pesticides used in the growing of plants and cereals, after having verified that they are harmful to bees.
From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The European Commission (EC) decided to restrict the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides used in the growing of plants and cereals, after finding that these are harmful to bees.