Pesticide volumes sold in Quebec hit a 30-year high in 2021. This increase is explained in particular by a rebound in sales of glyphosate in agriculture and a significant increase in sales of biopesticides in urban areas to combat … dandelion.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
That’s according to the latest annual review of pesticide sales, published discreetly on the Department for Environment, Fighting Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks’ website.
Pesticides are chemical substances used to control weeds (herbicides), insect pests (insecticides) or fungi (fungicides).
For the first time since 1992, total sales of pesticides exceeded 5 million kilograms of active ingredients (kg AI) sold.
These sales, which total 5.1 million kilograms of APIs, are above the five-year average of 4.5 million kilograms of APIs, despite Quebec’s reduction targets in the agricultural sector.
” That doesn’t make sense. We shouldn’t be increasing the use of pesticides right now, we should be limiting it, and that’s not at all the profile we’re seeing,” regrets Louise Hénault-Ethier, director of the Center Eau, Earth, Environment des National Institute for Scientific Research.
At war with the dandelions
What is new is that sales of biopesticides peaked in 2021 at nearly 1.5 million kilograms of active ingredients, nearly double the 2019 figure. Half of biopesticides were sold in urban areas. And it’s corn gluten meal used to limit germination of dandelion seeds, which is now the second best-selling pesticide in Quebec.
Unlike synthetic pesticides, biopesticides come from natural sources. Nevertheless, they can have harmful effects on biodiversity, warns Ms Hénault-Ethier.
This is worrying because from a purely biological perspective, all plants such as dandelions are vital to the insects and pollinators that form the basis of the food chain.
Louise Hénault-Ethier, Director of the Water, Land and Environment Center
“Dandelion, as much as some may hate it, is the first to bloom in the spring and one of the last to wilt in the fall. So there is [aux insectes et pollinisateurs] a pantry when no other flowers are available in the ecosystems,” adds Ms Hénault-Ethier.
The quantities of “lawn herbicides” sold increased from 419,263 kg of active substance in 2020 to 651,226 kg of active substance in 2021. Another record. In 2014 it was 2609 kg AI
“I don’t think we should be fighting biodiversity in urban areas in 2023, it’s useless, it’s dangerous,” she adds.
Still far from the goals in agriculture
As every year, agricultural sales account for the majority of pesticide sales in the province. But despite setting a target of reducing the amount applied to Quebec’s fields by 15% by 2030, pesticide sales in agricultural areas remain stable.
“With 3.6 million kg of AI, sales from the agricultural sector account for 72% of total sales. “These correspond exactly to the average of the last five years,” says the report.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVE
Agricultural sales account for the majority of pesticide sales in the province.
The Quebec Sustainable Agriculture Plan, adopted in 2020, aims to reduce the amount of pesticides sold nationwide by 500,000 kg by 2030, but from an annual reference value of 3.3 million kg of active ingredients.
“Since 1992, we have missed the targets five times,” says Louise Vandelac, director of the Ecohealth Research Collective on Pesticides, Policies and Alternatives (CREPPA) at UQAM. “It’s a real saga. Not only is this sad, there is a real problem of government accountability. »
Glyphosate is still #1
Ms Vandelac is particularly concerned about the rise in glyphosate sales. This herbicide, often used in conjunction with genetically modified seeds, consistently tops the sales charts.
In 2021, almost 1.8 million kilograms of glyphosate active ingredients were sold in Quebec. The product is responsible for nearly three-quarters of the observed increase in pesticide sales compared to 2020, the report said.
PHOTO JEAN-FRANÇOIS MONIER, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVE
In 2021, almost 1.8 million kilograms of glyphosate active ingredients were sold in Quebec.
“There is not a farmer in the world that uses glyphosate. They use glyphosate-based herbicides and the other compounds in particular are the problem.” The analysis must be carried out and it is not normal that the authorities have not done it,” stresses Ms. Vandelac. In the list of other ingredients, particular reference is made to products derived from petroleum and heavy metals.
Fewer animals, less hay
When asked about the increase in pesticide sales, the president of the Union of Agricultural Producers replied that cattle, dairy and sheep herds had declined in recent years. Hay and pasture land, which require little or no pesticides, have been replaced by annual crops, which typically use them.
“Since 2006 there have been 200,000 hectares more soybeans and berries, that’s 20,000 hectares more. During this time we have 200,000 hectares less hay and 90,000 hectares less grain,” emphasizes Martin Caron.
He reiterates that the producers are really mobilized. However, he points out that the sustainable agriculture plan called for the hiring of 75 local agronomists and engineers to support producers. “The agronomists we have are busy filling out the paperwork on the administration side and are not in our fields with the rest of us. And there really has to be a turnaround so there’s more support on the ground,” he said.
What there is to know
- For the first time since 1992, quantities of pesticides sold in Quebec exceeded 5 million kilograms of active ingredients. A historical record.
- The herbicide glyphosate remains the best-selling pesticide in the province.
- The quest for a dandelion-free lawn has boosted sales of corn gluten meal, the second-biggest biopesticide in sales.