PESTICIDE USE IN THE SANTA ELENA AREA
Katharine Griffithsurvey of pesticide use, management prac-
tices, and poisonings was administered to 32
farmers in 1990. The findings signaled that
greater concern for personal and environmental safety
is warranted. Results included the following (K. Grif-
fith and N. Trejos, unpubl. data):
(1) The major local pesticide supplier carried
pesticides that had been banned for safety
and environmental reasons in the United
States and Europe.
(2) No safety equipment was for sale locally,
and almost no farmers had ever used safety
equipment.
(3) Many farmers purchased the herbicide
Paraquat at bulk prices by bringing their
own containers, so they had no label infor-
mation after leaving the shop.
(4) Most farmers had no standard way of mea-
suring pesticides for mixing with water.
Quite a few used cough syrup cups or made
rough estimates of quantities ("one trickle
per backpack sprayer"). They had little ideaof appropriate application rates and were
routinely confused by the instructions and
safety information on the labels.
(5) Storage practices were unsafe and inade-
quate; for example, farmers stored pesti-
cides in bedrooms, in bathrooms, and in
unmarked containers in their barns.
(6) Cases of accidental poisoning of cows, pets,
and humans were common; nearly every
farmer interviewed had suffered at least a
mild poisoning or lost an animal or knew
someone who had.
(7) The concept of environmental persistence
was poorly understood; for example, one
herbicide recommended for use only on
areas in which permanent plant eradication
was desired (such as train track beds) had
been used locally for ground preparation
prior to seeding crops.
(8) A high percentage of the respondents had
begun to use pesticides during the previous
2-3 years, which suggests that use was in-
creasing rapidly.FRIJOL TAPADO OR "COVERED BEANS"
Katherine Griffith & Jim Wolfeeans are a staple food in Costa Rica. Although
they are not a highly profitable crop (due in
part to government price controls), beans pro-
vide dietary security for many families with a limited
or uncertain cash income. A traditional but poorly
documented agricultural system in the Monteverde
area is the frijol tapado, or "covered bean" system in
which farmers plant black beans on unplowed fallow
land. The farmer lets land grow up in scrub for 2-3
years until the vegetation (which must not include
much grass) is 1-3 m high. The farmer broadcasts seed
between September and November. The brush is cut
down with a machete and left in place as mulch.
About 70 days later, the beans are harvested. The pro-
ducer uproots and dries the plants, and then spreads
them out on a tarpaulin to thresh and winnow them.
Although this is a low-productivity system, it has
many advantages. As a form of "no-till" agriculture,
it allows steep hillsides to be planted with minimal
risk of erosion. It maintains or increases organic mat-
ter and available phosphorus in the soil. As nitrogen-
fixers, beans improve the soil, although their contri-
bution should not be overstated because much of the
nitrogen is removed when the beans are harvested
(National Research Council 1993). The system is a
relatively biologically diverse one that minimizes pests
and diseases; agricultural chemicals are not used in
this system. Finally, it requires relatively little labor
compared to tilling the soil. This and similar slash/
mulch systems have been described in favorable terms
by several researchers (Rosenmeyer 1990, National
Research Council 1993), who have found the system
to minimize erosion, increase soil organic matter,
provide nutrient cycling benefits, and reduce labor,
herbicide, and fungicide needs. In warm wet condi-
tions, relatively rapid decomposition of the mulch
provides nutrient recycling benefits unavailable
through burning while protecting the soil surface and
increasing the amount of organic matter (National
Research Council 1993).414 Agriculture in Monteverde: Moving Toward SustainabilityA
B