Former Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Rafael Coscolluela expressed concern over the environmental impact of a proposed Negros-wide aerial spraying of chemical pesticides to combat red-striped soft scale insects attacking sugarcane fields.
“On paper, aerial spraying by airplane sounds good, but let us look at its practicality,” Coscolluela said on Monday.
“What will be its effect on communities that might become unintended victims of the spraying, since they are saying chemical pesticides will be used?” he asked.
He asked how the spraying can be kept within targeted farms when there is the wind factor that must be considered.
Coscolluela also asked what the effects of massive aerial chemical insecticide spraying would be on poultry farms, wildlife such as beneficial insects, rivers and groundwater sources used for drinking by local residents.
“Are there measures that will make it possible to prevent pollution or contamination of groundwater or drinking water?” he asked.
Instead of airplanes, Coscolluela said he prefers mobilizing an army of workers on the ground to conduct focused, targeted spraying.
This approach would require a large number of people and sprayers, which is why planters’ associations and local governments have a critical role to play, Coscolluela said.
“It needs a comprehensive, science-based, systematic plan of action… that’s what we expect from the provincial task force,” Coscolluela said.
United Federation of Sugar Producers (UNIFED) president Manuel Lamata is proposing the use of airplanes for aerial spraying worth P200 million to cover 250,000 hectares of sugarlands in Negros Island.
Lamata said that the aerial spraying is safe for animals and humans, adding that drones would be used in areas within 200 meters of residential houses.*
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