Farmers in Lebanon are phasing out the use of the pesticide methyl bromide that depletes the earth's protective ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere, to rid fields of pests and are recycling tons of plastic sheets used for covering crops and soil treatment.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Montreal Protocol Unit is working with the Ministry of Environment to help vegetable, flower and tobacco growers adopt new ways of control to pests, thus meeting the terms of the protocol, which calls for phasing out the use of ozone-depleting substances.
Funding comes from the protocol's Multilateral Fund. The UN Industrial Development Organization is helping strawberry growers end the use of methyl bromide. The ozone layer protects life on earth against the harmful affects of the ultraviolet rays from the sun, which can cause skin cancer and cataracts and suppress the immune system.
The initiative also includes recycling polyethylene sheets widely used in large greenhouses and small tunnels to shelter crops. Farmers also use the sheets to cover the soil during treatment with methyl bromide or alternative treatments being introduced.
The sheets deteriorate with use, so farmers dispose of 2,000 tons a year by burning, dumping or burying, all of which have environmental drawbacks. The project to introduce methyl bromide alternatives is providing another 70 tons of sheets a year, which must also be discarded.
UNDP and the Ministry found a solution to the problem at a polyethylene recycling plant, which was able to set up a parallel line to handle the used sheets. Farmers transport their used sheets to the plant and receive $50 per ton from the project.
Project manager Garo Haroutunian said that farmers were supporting recycling and noted that the project is also going to encourage farmers to compost plant residues rather than burn them, since use of organic compost in farm fields provides another alternative to methyl bromide for suppressing pests. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
