FAO fails to adopt new code for pesticide use
Date: 15-Nov-01
Country: ITALY
The biennial conference of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which ended on Monday, fell short of agreement on a new framework for pesticide use because of differing interpretations over patents and data protection.
"No, we did not adopt a new code of conduct because of an article that deals with the registration procedure of intellectual property rights," Niek Van der Graaf, chief of FAO's plant protection service, told Reuters.
He said the article would be reviewed by member countries over the next year and if a compromise is reached, a new code could be adopted by FAO's governing council at a meeting in November 2002.
Member countries did revise other articles of the existing international code of pesticide use, increasing emphasis on integrated pest management and removing references to safe use of pesticides in favour of risk reduction.
"Each pesticide has a certain risk to human health and the environment," Van der Graaf said.
But Van der Graaf said the document could be adopted only when agreement on all articles had been reached and the revisions would therefore not enter into force until a compromise was found on intellectual property rights.