Record pesticide sales in Quebec

The quantities of pesticides sold in Quebec in 2021 reached a peak not seen in 30 years. This increase is explained in particular by a rebound in sales of glyphosate in agriculture and a marked increase in sales of biopesticides in urban areas to fight against… dandelions.

This is revealed by the most recent annual review of pesticide sales, published discreetly on the website of the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks.

Pesticides are chemical substances used to control weeds (herbicides), insect pests (insecticides) or fungi (fungicides).

For the first time since 1992, total pesticide sales crossed the threshold of 5 million kilograms of active ingredients (kg ai) sold.

These sales, which total 5.1 million kilograms of active ingredients, are above the average of the last five years of 4.5 million kilograms of active ingredients, despite the reduction targets that Quebec has established itself in the agricultural sector.

” That does not make any sense. We should not, at the moment, be increasing the use of pesticides, we should be restricted, and this is not at all the profile we see, ”deplores Louise Hénault-Ethier, director of the Center Eau , Earth, Environment of the National Institute for Scientific Research.

At war with the dandelions

In a new development, sales of biopesticides peaked in 2021 with nearly 1.5 million kilograms of active ingredients, almost double the sales of 2019. Half of the biopesticides were sold in urban areas. And it is corn gluten meal, used to limit the germination of dandelions, which now ranks second among the most sold pesticides in Quebec.

Unlike synthetic pesticides, biopesticides are derived from natural sources. Despite this, they can have harmful impacts on biodiversity, warns M^me Henault-Ethier.

“Dandelions, as much as some may hate them, are the first to bloom in the spring and among the last to wilt in the fall. So it gives [aux insectes et pollinisateurs] a pantry supply when there are no other flowers available in the ecosystems,” adds Ms.^me Henault-Ethier.

The quantities of “lawn herbicides” sold increased from 419,263 kg ai in 2020 to 651,226 kg ai in 2021. Another record. In 2014, they were 2609 kg ai

“I don’t think we should fight against biodiversity in urban areas in 2023, it’s futile, it’s dangerous,” she adds.

Still far from the targets in agriculture

Agricultural sales represent, as every year, the majority of pesticide sales in the province. However, despite the adoption of a target to reduce the quantities spread on Quebec fields by 15% by 2030, pesticide sales in agricultural areas remain stable.

“With 3.6 million kg ai, sales from the agricultural sector represent 72% of total sales. These correspond exactly to the average of the last five years,” the report reads.

Adopted in 2020, the Quebec Sustainable Agriculture Plan aims to reduce the volume of pesticides sold province-wide by 500,000 kg by 2030, but from an annual reference value set at 3 .3 million kilograms of active ingredients.

“We have missed the targets five times since 1992,” says Louise Vandelac, director of the Ecohealth Research Collective on Pesticides, Policies and Alternatives (CREPPA) at UQAM. “It’s a real saga. It is not only sad, there is a real problem of State responsibility. »

Glyphosate still number 1

M^me Vandelac is particularly concerned about the rise in glyphosate sales. This herbicide, often used in tandem with seeds genetically modified to resist it, always sits at the top of the sales charts.

It sold nearly 1.8 million kilograms of active glyphosate ingredients in 2021 in Quebec. The product is responsible for almost three quarters of the increase in pesticide sales observed compared to 2020, the report notes.

“There isn’t a farmer in the world that uses glyphosate, they use glyphosate-based herbicides and it’s all the other compounds, mostly, that are the problem. The analysis must be done and it is not normal that the public authorities have not done it, ”underlines Mr.^me Vandelac. In the list of other ingredients, it points in particular to products derived from petroleum and heavy metals.

Fewer animals, less hay

Asked about the increase in pesticide sales, the president of the Union of Agricultural Producers noted that cattle, dairy and sheep herds have decreased in recent years. Hay and pasture areas, which require little or no pesticides, have been replaced by annual crops which generally use them.

“Since 2006, there have been 200,000 more hectares of soybeans and berries, that’s 20,000 more hectares. During this time, we have 200,000 hectares less in hay and 90,000 hectares less in cereals,” underlines Martin Caron.

He affirms that the producers are really mobilized. He notes, however, that the Sustainable Agriculture Plan provided for the addition of 75 agronomists and engineers in the field to support producers. “The agronomists we have are busy filling out the paperwork on the administrative side and are not in our fields with the rest of us. And that, there really has to be a turn for there to be more support on the ground, ”he said.