MEDIA STATEMENT

 

 

CROPLIFE SOUTH AFRICA LAUNCHES PESTICIDE DATABASE

 

19 OCTOBER 2009

 

 

EMBARGO: IMMEDIATE

 

 

STARTS

 

CropLife South Africa (CLSA) launches its Agricultural Remedies Database today. It is a comprehensive yet user-friendly data set of pesticides that are registered by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for pest and disease management in agriculture, public health and environmental health. Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, plant growth regulants, adjuvants, defoliants and desiccants (collectively called pesticides) are captured in the database.  

 

CLSA believes that the database is an essential tool that should be used by government departments, farmers, the agrochemical industry, the pest control industry, health care professionals and law enforcement agencies in the execution of daily tasks where pesticides are involved. It provides a list of registered pesticides with their active ingredients, registration numbers, formulations, registration holders, applications, the hazard classifications and other essential information.

 

The database does not replace labels of individual products but is a guide to support decision making in pesticide use and other activities. It is imperative that any individual who uses a pesticide must do so strictly according to the label of the specific product.

 

The database is listed on the CLSA website under the “CropLife SA Initiatives” icon or http://www.croplife.co.za/ARD.html and is freely available for all who may wish to use it. A general data set is available under the heading “Active Ingredients”. The same data is also offered as separate data sets under “Insecticides”, “Herbicides”, “Fungicides” and “PGRs” (that include plant growth regulants, adjuvants, defoliants and desiccants). A data set of Maximum Residue Levels is also available.

 

Stakeholders are encouraged to use the database in order to ensure that any pesticides that they may use are legally registered in South Africa. CLSA requests all stakeholders to send any proposed corrections, amendments, omissions or additions to the originator and manager of the database Kathy van Zyl at kathy@tsunami.co.za. 

 

The database will be updated and improved monthly and new data sets will be uploaded at the end of each month. CLSA undertakes to maintain the database as a quality product for the benefit of South African society and to protect the environment and people’s health.

 

For further information please contact:

 

Mr Marcel Dreyer, President of CropLife SA at 082-771-2712 or

 

Mr Tom Mabesa, Executive Director of CropLife SA at 082-657-5329 or

 

Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, Griffon Poison Information Centre at 082-446-8946.

 

ENDS