Managing Pesticides in Vegetable Systems in Southeast Asia: Combining Environment and Trade (MAPET - http://www.mapet.nl).

• Funding agency:  European Commission (Contract No. ICA4-2000-10247)
• Coordinating agency:  Alterra, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
• Period: 2 years (completed by 11/2005)

Partners:

• CARES, Hanoi University of Agriculture , Vietnam
• Soil and Fertility Institute, Sichuan, China
• AIT, Thailand
• Stirling University, Scotland   
• Agricultural Economic Institute (LEI), Wageningen University, the Netherlands

Collecting water and sediment samples in Sondu village (Nguyenkhe, Donganh)

Objectives:

The MAPET project aims at reducing pesticide use in vegetable farming in Southeast Asia leading to the paired benefits of enhanced export possibilities, reduced health risks for local consumers and reduced environmental emissions. Beneficiaries are small scale vegetable farmers in peri-urban areas and local consumers in Vietnam, Thailand and China.

The project aims to achieve a synergy between two ongoing EU-FP5 projects in which the consortium is involved. Major activities are: collecting farm management data, giving insight in current pesticide management; scientific risk assessment of current practices, especially related to surface water, groundwater and soil pollution and residue levels on marketed products; an economic assessment of the opportunities of the sector to export to the EU; participatory definition of alternative management in order to reduce pesticide use; communicating alternative approaches to policy makers and other selected stakeholders, both in Asian countries and in the EU.

Checking for disease symptoms on kolhrabi in Tangmy village (Namhong, Donganh)

Specifically, the project seeks:

1. To get a thorough overview of pesticide use (type of pesticides used, application rates, timing) in major vegetable growing and vegetable exporting areas in Vietnam, Thailand and China.
2. To assess (i) level of emission of pesticides to surface water (ii) level of emissions to soil, (iii) level of leaching of pesticides to groundwater and (iv) residue levels on products, all under current applications schemes.
3. To assess the possibilities and constraints of the vegetable sectors in the three countries to export their products to Europe.
4. To develop alternative pesticide management strategies (in conjunction with the farmers) that decrease levels of residues on the products (and thus increase export possibilities and reduce health risks for local consumers) and decrease environmental pollution at the same time.
5. To communicate alternative approaches to policy makers and other selected stakeholders, both in Asian countries and in the EU.