Pesticides usage statistics

Guidelines for the Collection of Pesticides Usage Statistics Within Agriculture and Horticulture (2002). 

Thomas, M.R. (1999) Guidelines for the Collection of Pesticide Usage Statistics within Agriculture and Horticulture. Paris Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 

Very limited information is available, either in the scientific literature or in popular literature available through Internet. Thapinta and Hudak (2000) in their report on the pesticide use and residual occurrence in Thailand reviewed the import and usage statistics of different pesticides and also their residual levels in different environmental samples. Thailand is a country where the climatic conditions make it suitable for cultivating a wide range of tropical and semi-tropical crops. Recently, Thailand is improving fast in the industrial sector, all these activities leading to the import of many chemicals from several nations. Chemicals import, especially those of pesticides to Thailand have increased rapidly over the past decade more than double between 1987 and 1996, that is from 20,357 MT in 1987 to 45,071 MT in 1996 (DOA, 1996). 

The collection of a reliable set of usage statistics has value in many areas of research, legislation and agricultural support, and is far more than a simple statistical exercise in its own right. In Great Britain, usage statistics form an integral part of minimisation policy and the assessment of pesticide impact on consumers,... 

Within the OECD, where the Pesticide Forum, and in particular the Risk Reduction Group, have expressed a need for reliable usage statistics. 

Once the collection of a regular set of usage statistics has been established, changes over time in use on particular crops (Figure 2.2), or of particular pesticides (Figure 2.3), can be monitored. These may result from several factors, some or all of which may interact to give annual variations in use ... 

USDA (1992). Agricultural Chemical Usage. Washington, DC US Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. USDA-NRCS (2000). Conservation buffers to reduce pesticide losses. Washington, DC 21 pp. 

The establishment of a statistically sound data-set on usage allows an evaluation of likely operator exposure, as realistic work rates can be derived from the data collected, such as average field size, area sprayed per operator per day, amount of pesticide handled per day, etc. All of these factors are vital in refining predicted operator exposure models, and are discussed at length by Hamey (2001). 

---