2.2.1 Risks with chemical pest control

Chemical pest control methods have been, at different times, places and for the various analysts, considered as:

• crucial for sustaining a healthy crop,
• or expensive and of limited cost efficacy,
• or environmentally unsound in the complex cocoa agroecosystem. 

Improved crop varieties and various alternative biology-based control techniques may eventually offer sustainable long-term solutions. The major overarching issues with pesticide use include:

• Safety aspects including real and potential risks to growers and consumers (see Chapter 5).
• Cost-effectiveness: perhaps of greatest interest to many farmers.
• Technical problems with pesticide applications: sometimes called the ‘three Rs’ including development of resistance by pests (resulting in loss of effectiveness) which may cause farmers to increase dosages and thus add to the risk of high residues. Resurgence where insecticides can actually make minor pest problems worse (see Chapter 4).
• Other sustainability concerns including general impact on the environment and non-target organisms (e.g. the build-up of copper in the soil after long-term use for disease control).

Safety aspects are of course by far the greatest concerns for the general public and thus regulators, but pesticides can be important tools for farmers and cannot simply be wished away. Consumers do not always appreciate the high levels of disease and insect pressure that occur in tropical countries, and solving pest control problems for growers remains a crucial part of the “package”.