Pesticides in Colombia
Agricultural pesticides and land use intensification in high, middle and low income countries
Pesticides in Colombia are more common than we might believe, actually they
are a big concern or at least should be. Since not a lot of Colombians are informed of
the actual situation regarding pesticides.
First of all, a pesticide is a substance
whose aim is to affect specific pests, since you know there are different species of
insects. Taking this into account, we should have in mind the fact that pesticides in
Colombia are an actual problem, and the root of this is the misinformation the
citizens have about these substances.
Many people, whether they are involved in
agriculture or not, are not aware of the damage the excessive use of pesticides is
doing to our beloved insects species’ natural habitats. Just in 2017, pesticides were
reported to affect multiple bees hives and contaminating them, which was causing a
crisis in regards with the bees. It is important to mention that this has also been a
big concern for many more countries, since honey samples were taken all around
the globe and at least 75% of them were contaminated.
In a legal aspect, Colombia should be using pesticides in a way that is less
harmful, and taking into account the well being of the different species that the pesticide may
encounter. According to the decree number 1843 from 1991,
specifically article number 1, it emphasizes on the correct use of pesticides, as long as
they fulfil the needed requirements. Like this one, there are many that backup the
responsible use of pesticides, but yet we have found some cases along the
way, that certainly have shown how some insect species have been affected by
pesticides.
Glyphosate is a common pesticide and the world’s most widely used weed killer.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) labelled
glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic” and investigations have shown how
damaging each component of this substance is harmful, not only to the environment, but also to humankind and many of our vital organs.
Colombia was one of the first
countries to share their disagreement with the use of this substance and as well as
restricting their use, but yet again the same country has found itself using it against
coca. Colombian President Ivan Duque has announced the use of
glyphosate to fight illicit coca cultivation and the trafficking of cocaine.
Colombia is
well known for the amount of drugs that can produce and this is something that the
government does not want to continue, so they implement different measures that
reinforce the complete abolition of fertile lands for the production of coca.
By María Camila Montes, Step 10
