Monthly Archives: March 2020

The performance of Moroccan agriculture is the result, amongst other things, the know-how of growers and the use
of pesticides to protect crops from pests and diseases. The use of pesticides ensures abundant and quality agricultural production to provide important income to producers, while preserving the health of consumers and the environment. However, while plant protection products are necessary to all growers, they must be used safely and wisely by farmers, in order to guarantee and ensure their safety, the safety of the applicators, consumers, animals and preserve the environment which are the guarantee to sustainable agriculture.
The CropLife association, representing the plant science industry in Morocco, advocates ethical and responsible management of plant protection products throughout their life cycle, from the first phase of their design and manufacture, to the last phase of their use or disposal under conditions that meet the country’s standards and regulations. Unfortunately, in practice, plant protection products are not yet well applied and used according to the rules by some farmers who are not well informed about their safe use. Knowing the threats generated by the misuse of plant
protection products on the sustainability of the agricultural economy in particular and on the national economy in general, CropLife Morocco with the support of CropLife Africa Middle East is committed to partnering with the National Office of the Agricultural Council to conduct train of trainer sessions for agricultural advisors. Once this is done they can in turn train, advise Moroccan farmers and raise their awareness on good agricultural practices as well as on the responsible use of pesticides. All the training sessions were covered by the local agricultural radio station MedinaFM.

At the end of each session, participants received flyers, leaflets, booklets and posters on pesticide safe use

CropLife Cote d’Ivoire organized its first training workshop for the year on IPM/RU for pesticide dealers, applicators and counsellors. The 78 participants were individuals seeking certification for the first time or renewal of their expired certificates from the Pesticide Committee chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Among the participants were three from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger who wanted to improve their knowledge in their handling of pesticides, as dealers in their respective countries. More than 10 sessions were covered during the four-day program in which 16 topics were discussed, ranging from basics on pesticides (definitions, formulations, terminology….), pesticide regulations, pesticide application, GAPs, pesticides and sustainable agriculture and economic development… A special focus was placed on the importance and correct use of PPE, empty container management and anticounterfeiting activities. These topics were referred to during the opening and closing ceremonies which were chaired by the Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Directorate (DPVCQ) as well as during the specific sessions devoted to these topics. The participants were frequently called on to give their expected contribution to any project or program related to the three issues. The workshop was supervised by the Bureau Norme et Audit (BNA) as CropLife Cote d’Ivoire is seeking certification of the training program. Such certification would provide an opportunity to engage in negotiations for conducting training for government, projects and development agencies involved in agricultural development. The closing ceremony was attended by the President of the Board of ANADER, the National Extension Service. This level of cooperation is in line with the commitment made between ANADER and CropLife CI to pursue and provide knowledge and support to the farming community through synergy raising as determined in their respective mission statements.