In May 2019, a coalition of nine ISEAL members launched the new ‘Pesticides and Alternatives’ app as part of their mission to eliminate the use of highly hazardous pesticides in agriculture.

The widespread use of highly hazardous pesticides in agriculture is a major concern for people and the environment. Especially in developing countries the lack of access to free and impartial information is a key challenge to phasing out the use of these chemicals. This app aims to address this shortcoming.

The app, which can be downloaded free from the Apple Store and Google Play, provides accessible information on pesticides, including toxicity levels and which crops and pests it can be used for. The app is available offline to support use in the field. The app can also suggest non-chemical pest control alternatives from CABI for 2700 pests and diseases as well as providing the pesticide restrictions for eight distinct standard systems.

At the moment, the information is customised to be applicable to Mexico, India, Brazil, Colombia and Kenya, but the coalition hopes to expand this information to more countries in the near future. Users can access the information in Spanish, French and Portuguese but the coalition aims to be able to make it available in other languages.

The ISEAL Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Coalition is a partnership between UTZ, Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Bonsucro, Fairtrade International, Roundtable on Sustainable Materials (RSB), Global Coffee Platform (GCP), Golf Environment Organization (GEO), Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The development of the app was possible with scientific support from the Oregon State University’s Integrated Plant Protection Center (OSU-IPPC), and data facilitation from CABI.

This is the second project from the coalition that has received funding from the ISEAL Innovations Fund. For more information on the coalition and these projects, please visit the ISEAL innovations hub.