PRoMPT David Pendlington Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Project Co-ordinator

A software system to evaluate the environmental and human health impacts of pesticide use in agriculture. Simple but meaningful RISK-BASED indicators on - Leaching potential - Aquatic eco-toxicity - Terrestrial eco-toxicity - Operator risk …with minimum data input required by user - To inform choice on pest control options - To track progress towards more ‘sustainable’ use - To compare growers, regions or supply chains What is PRoMPT? How does it work? What can it be used for?

Structure User data Four risk indicators Groundwater risk Aquatic eco-tox Terrestrial eco-tox Operator risk Algorithms Pesticide database

User data Input Location (lat, lon) and distance to water courses Active Ingredients (AI) used Application rate, technique, date Irrigation 1 1

Pesticide database Substance data, mainly from public domain Toxicological & physico-chemical endpoints Augmented with data from manufacturers About 600 substances 2 2

Algorithms Example: Leaching to groundwater R = L / ADI Risk Indicator Predicted average daily leaching loss Human Allowable Daily Intake (Toxicity) Leaching prediction  Layered mass balance model  Global drainage data set  Adjustment for irrigation 3 3

Location-specific drainage is derived from the output of water balance model (Vörösmarty et al., 1998 J. Hydrol. 207, 147ff). NB - Long-term average values NOT site and year specific! VERY approximate!

Algorithms Other risk indicators similar to Groundwater Potential exposure vs. toxicity threshold Standard screening-level toxicology Simple exposure models 3 3

Output: Four risk indicators Leaching to groundwater Aquatic eco-toxicity Terrestrial eco-toxicity Operator risk For each risk indicator and each AI, risks are classed as <10 Low Risk → 1 point Medium Risk → 3 points >100 High Risk → 9 points 4 4

Applications 1.To inform choice on pest control options 2.To track progress towards more ‘sustainable’ use 3.To compare growers, regions or supply chains

Example 1 a: Inform choice on pest control options Five control options for thrips recommended by the Indian Tea Board and the Indian Pesticide Board

Effect of No-Spray Zone in spinach growing (Italy) profile for individual A.I.’s with and without No Spray Zone (NSZ) Example 1b : Inform choice on pest control options

Effect of No-Spray Zone in spinach growing (Italy) profile for individual A.I.’s with and without No Spray Zone (NSZ) Example 1b : Inform choice on pest control options

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 (a) (b) Example 2: Track progress towards ‘sustainable’ use Growing tomatoes sustainably in Australia

Example 3: compare growers, regions or supply chains Comparing Grower Profiles: Eleven (A – K) brassica growers in Eastern England Problem growers or growers with problems?

Limitations (1) PRoMPT can not ‘make’ the choice whether to use a particular pesticide or not. This will depend on additional factors, such as –risk of residues in product –efficacy & risk of crop damage –alternative pest control measures available –action thresholds –national registration –black or white lists and reputation –availability & cost.

Limitations (2) PRoMPT will not safeguard against or inform on the effects of bad practice, e.g. –insufficient operator training –not using proper Personal Protective Equipment –bad storage, use and disposal of pesticides.

THANK YOU!