Banana growers, exporters back more research on impact of aerial spraying

MANILA, Philippines – Technical experts from the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) are backing further and more comprehensive scientific research on the impact of aerial spraying on humans, given that a government-commissioned study has failed to establish conclusive evidence proving that this efficient mode of dispersing fungicide was directly responsible for certain discomforts or sickness in one village adjacent to a banana plantation in Davao del Sur.

PBGEA has agreed to support further research after a study commissioned by the Department of Health (DOH) was presented publicly last Tuesday in Davao City before scientists, banana industry members, various non-government organizations and other stakeholders.

The study done by the Philippine Society of Clinical and Occupational Toxicology and the National Poison Management and Control Center of the University of the Philippines showed that there were “statistically negligible” levels or hardly any fungicide residue detected in the air, soil and water in Sitio Camocaan in Hagonoy, Davao del Sur, thereby puncturing this joint research’s own conclusion on the need to ban aerial spraying.

“We support efforts for further investigation of these cases, as we need to make decisions using solid, science-based assessments,” Stephen Antig, PBGEA president, said.

This joint study was commissioned by the DOH and was conducted among just 38 residents – 16 of whom are adults and 22 are children – of Sitio Camocaan, which is next to the banana plantation of the Guihing Agricultural and Development Corp. (GADECO).

Further and more thorough research is necessary, he said, as this DOH-tapped study covered only a minor sampling of the local population and was thus not comprehensive enough to justify its conclusion that aerial spraying by agribusiness companies was harmful to people living just outside their farms.

More importantly, the drastic recommendation by the two research groups on the ban was not consistent with at least five of their official findings, which betrayed the “inadequacies” of the study and showed no correlation between the health concerns raised by the Camocaan respondents and the insignificant, if not non-detectable, levels of supposedly toxic chemicals detected by the researchers in the village. –Philippine Star