The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) recently released “Accelerating Sustainable Pest Management: A Roadmap for California,” a document that outlines goals to reduce and/or eliminate the use of Priority Pesticides by the year 2050.
The group of Priority Pesticides has not yet been defined, but it is generally viewed as a group of high-risk crop protection materials. The Roadmap document also calls for accelerating the adoption of alternatives and the improvement of pest and disease prevention and elimination programs.
The identification of Priority Pesticides will be conducted by DPR under the advisement of a stakeholder committee. Based on feedback from the committee, DPR will create a list of priorities along with action plans for each priority. Work will include additional research, pilot projects, training and outreach, social equity evaluations, grant opportunities and other investments that can be utilized throughout the process.
While the Roadmap urges full implementation of Sustainable Pest Management (SPM), it also prioritizes the fast-tracking approvals for alternative products and recommends concurrent review with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) process.
The Roadmap calls for the modernization of California’s pest prevention programs, additional funding and staff to step-up efforts at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), as well as investments in new technologies for farmers and urban stakeholders.
Specifically, the document recommends increasing funding to finalize the CalTrap initiative and mandating funds for CDFA’s High Risk Pest Exclusion Program. The document also calls for additional modeling around climate change and its impacts on pests.
The Roadmap clearly acknowledges the need for urban and agricultural strategies to go hand-in-hand. Recommendations include both urban and agricultural approaches recognizing that pests can migrate from neighborhoods to fields and vice versa.
Ag Council will remain engaged throughout the regulatory process. In addition, Ag Council will host a panel of experts on SPM and related crop protection issues during our 104th Annual Meeting in March.
To read the executive summary released by DPR, click HERE.