UN to deliver berry borer webinar for coffee industry

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will deliver the first of a series of webinars on controlling the Coffee Berry Borer (CBB) pest on 20 January. In conjunction with the 4C Association, UNEP will present the first of three installments, which will look at Integrated Pest Management practices as an alternative to the highly hazardous pesticide Endosulfan. The Stockholm Convention listed Endosulfan, a broad-spectrum organochlorine insecticide, as a persistent organic pollutant (POP) in 2011, targeting it for global elimination. “This is an important achievement in view of the risks of this highly hazardous chemical, and will trigger action and change at national governance level,” said the 4C Association. This 4C Code of Conduct, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified prohibit the use of POPs and PIC-listed chemicals in their supply chains. “Continued endosulfan usage by farmers supplying according to these standards would constitute non-compliance with these standards and could lead to a withdrawal of sustainability licenses or certificates,” said the 4C Association. “There is a pressing need to identify viable and practical alternatives to the use of Endosulfan for coffee growers. This is precisely the aim of the project Growing Coffee without Endosulfan.” UNEP and the 4C Association will share practical experiences of coffee farmers in managing CBB with field hygiene measures (often called cultural controls). The webinar will feature video documentation on the experiences of coffee farmers in Colombia and Nicaragua as well as information from Pesticide Action Network UK on implementing cultural controls. The presenter will also dedicate a time-slot for questions and discussions. The UNEP will present the first session in English at 10:00 (CET) on 20 January. It will present another session in Spanish at 16:00 (CET) on 22 January.