“A Boom Spraying Pesticides Application Course QQI Level 5 will be held on the following dates:Course 1 – June 11th/12th/13th Course 2- June 15th/16th/17thThe course will run over two days and day three will be assessment. Course Cost is €140 Light lunch and refreshments are included on day 1 and 2.
Completion of this course is a legislative requirement by the Department of Agriculture. Anyone using pesticides must complete this course before November 2015 in order to comply with regulations.This course is run in conjunction with Rural Food Skillnet. For further information or to book a place, contact 066 71 31977.
Straight on its Tail
I just got in the above notice from North & East Kerry Development. And straight on its tail came an email from an environmental group which spends its time imploring governments to control the use of pesticides and the power the big chemical companies have over them and food growers the world over. For years now such groups have been claiming that the damage being done to ‘Honey Bee’ populations by pesticides is past the point of frightening. They also claim that there is no such thing as a ‘safe pesticide’ as they are all designed to kill what crop growers have been convinced are ‘pests’ in their fields.
Right now there is a boom in the boom spraying of pesticides in all the great crop-growing lands in Ireland. And there are agencies the length and breadth of the country facilitating ‘Boom Spraying Courses’ and they’re booked out. These courses, it seems, cost anything up to €200 per day and are now mandatory for anyone growing and spraying crops.
If there’s that kind of demand and that amount of spraying of pesticides on the early stages of the food chain, should we as consumers worry about what we’re eating and more importantly, what the growers are spraying, which crops are they spraying and with what type of chemical.
Chemical Traces
Will the consumer find the chemical traces listed among the ingredients in the supermarket and what are the long-term effects of consuming green Irish foods which have been boom sprayed with pesticides?
“Under new legislation, all farmers must be trained and registered as a professional user of pesticides with the Department of Agriculture by November 26, 2015.
However, courses are varying from one day to three days with prices ranging from €200 to almost €400,” according to a report by Amy Forde in Agriland – Ireland’s Largest Farming News Portal.
“Teagasc offered pesticide courses in boom spraying in April and May. It says the course fee of €380 included Teagasc trained tutors, Teagasc workbook, lunch for the three days, one-on-one assessments, certification and Teagasc verification.
Teagasc’s database shows that upwards on 14,000 farmers have the necessary FETAC Level 5 qualification and all they need to do is register online through the Department’s website,” – according to Ms. Forde’s report.
Obsession with Spraying
So the question remains: What crops are they spraying and what’s in the pesticides they’re all lining up to do courses on ? Is there anyone out there who can tell us we’re not being put in mortal danger by this obsession with spraying everything in our food chain?
If you want to know more about what’s happening in the ‘Boom Spraying’ business have a look at Amy Forde’s article through the link here.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/boom-sprayer-courses-varying-by-as-much-as-e200/
