UnPoison’s December 2020 article introduced Pesticide spray drift in South Africa: Calling for legislation on buffer zones and other measures to protect our people and environment. The paper was published in October 2020 by the South African Organic Sector Organisation (SAOSO) and GMO Poison Free Zones South Africa. It was researched and written by Sasha Mentz-Lagrange and James Dabrowski.
The report examines spray drift from agricultural pesticide use and the exposure of farmworkers, neighbouring communities, water and agroecological farms. It documents three Western Cape cases involving table grapes, strawberries and blueberries. The authors argue that affected communities have too little monitoring, protection or recourse.
What the report calls for
The paper proposes measures including:
- reducing or prohibiting pesticide use in sensitive areas;
- mandatory buffer zones around people and water sources;
- restrictions on aerial spraying;
- advance notice to neighbouring communities;
- stronger controls on chemical handling, monitoring and enforcement; and
- support for farmers to transition towards non-chemical approaches.
These are the report authors’ recommendations, not a statement of current South African law. The report is a historical 2020 source; readers should check current rules and local circumstances before relying on it for legal or safety decisions.
Read the source: four-page executive summary · 58-page full report.
Both PDFs are unchanged copies of the original files linked by UnPoison. They are shared with attribution to SAOSO and GMO Poison Free Zones South Africa under the publications’ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 licence.