Agriculture continues to ignore the needs of the environment and the sustainability of an already beaten and fragile ecosystem. The 2018 State of the Nation Report reiterated the impact of agricultural practices in this country. “For the most part (…) they do not bet on environmental sustainability,” the report said.
Since 2016 and based on the VI National Agricultural Census of 2014, the State of the Nation Program warned of the situation. This year’s report revealed that less than 15% of the productive units treat water.
Only in one of three good practice categories, more than half of the crops have sustainable practices.
Although this dynamic generated important economic returns, at the same time it caused a series of negative externalities on environmental sustainability,”
explained the researchers on the agricultural projection since the 1990s.
All this productive commitment has been accompanied by an intense application of agrochemicals. Several studies repeatedly warned about the harmful consequences of this practice for the environment and public health,”
added the report.
Last June, the Center for Research on Environmental Pollution (CICA) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) presented the study Characterization of agricultural practices and the use and management of agrochemicals in pineapple crops, for the implementation of good agricultural practices, which drew a negative outlook and showed the lack of State control.
More than 20 surface water sources and 10 underground water sources were analyzed. The investigation showed the presence of pesticides in water bodies in Aguas Zarcas, Pital and Venecia in San Carlos, Río Cuarto and Sarapiquí, with substances such as ametryn and bromacil in pineapple crops. Bromacil has been banned in the country since 2017.
In addition to the excessive and harmful use of agrochemicals, there is a little boost for organic agriculture. In the last decade, the area planted under the certified organic system did not reach 3% of the total agricultural area and in 2017 it was 1.7%.
According to experts, some of the reasons that hinder significant progress in this field are the high prices at which the products are sold in the domestic market, the high costs involved in certification (especially for small and medium farmers), bureaucratic obstacles and weaknesses. of the MAG,”
states the Report.
Although the country does not have information to identify which aspects determine the incorporation of better actions in the farms, the Report did characterize the environment of those that have done it to a greater extent. That is why it recognized initiatives such as the definition of nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMA) in the coffee and livestock sectors.
The recent studies showed that those with access to services such as the internet, training or financing, for example, are the ones that incorporate more sustainable actions. In addition, people with higher educational levels received highest scores, although the difference between primary and secondary education degrees does not seem to have significant effects on the willingness to implement better practices.