Ecobreves – CUBA: Methyl Bromide Use Continues

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HAVANA, May 23 2005 (IPS) - Cuba has eliminated the use of ozone-depleting methyl bromide in its tobacco crops, but farmers continue to apply the chemical in other agricultural areas and in storage, admit official sources. Pérez Montesbravo, coordinator of the Cuban program for eradicating this substance that depletes the Earth's atmospheric ozone layer, told Tierramérica that his country uses 40 tons of the pesticide annually to kill pests found in food storage and on coffee plantations and flowers and ornamental plants for export.

The alternatives in farming activities include grafting techniques, which are costly but in the long term are better for the soil and ecosystems.

Cuba has already reduced its consumption of methyl bromide by 60 percent. This gas is classified as one of the main ozone-depleting substances by the Montreal Protocol, in effect since 1989.

The Caribbean island nation consumed 120 tons of this pesticide annually before 1998, of which 80 were used for disinfecting tobacco seedbeds.