South African farmer's neighbours in uproar over pesticide spraying methods

Concerned neighbours of the biggest farmer in South Africa's Riebeeck Kasteel area are to haul him before court, for the third time, to stop him spraying pesticides they claim are highly toxic and makes them sick. They have complained of skin irritations, difficulty in breathing and dizziness which they say were caused by the spraying of pesticides near their homes.

But farmer Johan Vlok is adamant his spraying methods comply with the law and regulations. He contends that there is a vendetta against him. Vlok has now been summoned to appear in the Malmesbury magistrate's court on October 15 for being in contempt of a previous court order regulating his spraying methods.

"We want the farmer to just stop spraying. He is not willing to co-operate (with the court order)," said concerned resident Jurgen Schirmacher. He said despite there being less invasive options for spraying, such as knapsack sprayers or the use of organic substances, Vlok would "not budge" and refrain from using mist-blowing tractor-pulled trailers. "When he sprays, the insecticides drift up to 3km. The house is dripping with poison and some have a holding period of 90 days, so everything we touch for that period is poisonous. We don't know if we are going to get cancer later."

Vlok, whose family owns most of the farms in the area, denied that he had made no attempt to respond to concerns. He said residents had signed a petition rejecting his offer to plant a buffer of trees to keep the spray away from the houses.

Leslie London, associate director of UCT's Occupational and Environmental Health Unit, said that while there was evidence linking exposure to pesticides with various medical conditions, it was the extent of the exposure that determined whether the pesticide was harmful. He said conditions linked with pesticide exposure included skin conditions such as acne, nerve damage, cancer, chronic respiratory problems and development delays. "The list is potentially endless, but the key is whether the exposure is controlled to a safe level." London said "it is my impression" occupational health and safety laws which were meant to protect workers exposed to hazardous substances "are not well adhered to in the agricultural context."

According to the Department of Agriculture's draft pesticide management policy for South Africa, there is substantial medical evidence that pesticides can be linked to diseases such as cancer and hormone disruption.

The battle between concerned residents and the farmer has been brewing for several years and has included two court orders against the farmer. Last year, Vlok was ordered to avoid spraying the vineyards bordering houses with any agricultural or other poison, chemical, pesticide or other poisonous substance when the wind was blowing towards the houses. He was ordered to give 24 hours notice of spraying, and he had to provide the details of the substances being sprayed and any warnings stated by the manufacturer about exposure to the substance.

Vlok has also been warned by local municipalities to change his methods of spraying so that residents would not be affected. However, residents have since contended that Vlok had failed to uphold this agreement.

But Vlok said he complied with all requirements. He said none of his farm- workers in contact with pesticides had displayed adverse symptoms.

Vlok, who oversees 700 farm workers, said there had been no reported illnesses because of pesticide contamination. "I am a farmer. I am 100 percent within the law. This (battle) is wasting people's time."

IOL