Rainforest Alliance Prohibits Use of Paraquat in Weed Control

Jakarta, April 13, 2023 – Until now, the use of pesticides with active ingredients that are harmful to the environment is still a worrying issue. This is evidenced by the use of the active ingredient paraquat in the cocoa sector in Indonesia.

Paraquat is a non-selective herbicide active ingredient which has a working mechanism to damage weed plant cell membranes, so that the chlorophyll needed for photosynthesis is disrupted and the weeds will die due to lack of nutrients. Even though it has a fairly high level of efficacy, paraquat has a harmful impact on plants for long-term use.

This is because the use of this type of pesticide in the long term can inhibit the photodegradation process. This happens because the active ingredient is very quickly absorbed into the soil surface.

In addition, long-term use of pesticides with active ingredients will produce residues from spraying paraquat pesticides which can have a negative impact on human health. The residues accidentally inhaled by humans have the potential to cause damage to organs such as the lungs, kidneys and liver.

The negative impact of using pesticides with the active ingredient paraquat has also been complained by farmers with the result of nauseous feeling and short of breath when accidentally inhaling this pesticide residue.

Therefore, the Rainforest Alliance took action by banning the use of pesticides with the paraquat active ingredient in integrated weed management. This decision was supported by several local governments in Indonesia, particularly the Department of Agriculture.

Work together with the local Agricultural Service, Rainforest Alliance invites cocoa farmers to adopt more sustainable farming systems in their cocoa cultivation. The first step in implementing this system is to apply the use of organic pesticides.

Farmers say that the use of organic pesticides is cheaper and doesn't cause environmental damage. Beside using organic pesticides, they also use mechanical methods in carrying out integrated weed management such as using a lawn mower.

The Rainforest Alliance has been committed to stop the use of harmful pesticides, including paraquat, from the 1990’s until now. The Rainforest Alliance also hopes that cocoa farmers in Indonesia will be able to adopt more sustainable farming systems in cocoa cultivation, including integrated weed management. (CSP/AV)