INTERNATIONAL LEGISLATION: RAISING THE BARRIERS TO MARKET ENTRY

International legislation on pesticide registration and use is being actively pursued by EU, with a view to harmonizing Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) in food and tightening procedures for pesticide approvals.

Though desirable from a food safety perspective, such legislation will have a serious short-term impact on developing country growers. A Pesticide Initiative led by COLEACP is trying to help ACP horticultural exporters to cope with the implications of EU legislation.

Sanitary and phyto-sanitory regulations demanded by developed countries are also becoming increasingly rigorous and could result in smallholders being squeezed out of global markets. A number of technical assistance programmes (under FAO, Commonwealth Secretariat etc) have been launched to ensure that this does not happen.

Further information about MRLs and the quality standards demanded by developed country importers can be found at these websites.