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The excessive use of plant protection products (PPPs) has given rise to issues of public and environmental health because of their toxicity. Reducing the use of toxic PPPs and replacing them with products that are less toxic for human health and the environment have become socially, environmentally and economically indispensable. In this article, we assess the plant protection practices of a small group of winegrowers practicing \"integrated agriculture\" in the south of France, in order to measure the benefit of using toxicity risk indicators as a decision-support tool for different players in land management. An analysis of plant protection practices using indicators of the risk to operator health and the environment (IRSA, IRTE), together with a frequency-of-treatment indicator (TFI), enabled us to (i) show the variability of these indicators depending on the production system and farmers' pesticide use strategies and (ii) calculate correlations between these indicators. This analysis of plant protection practices at different scales (farm, field), carried out in collaboration with the growers, enabled us to perform an initial validation of decision-support tools for determining risk management strategies regarding the use of pesticides.

Au Mali, l’usage des pesticides sur la culture de coton constitue un réel problème de santé publique et pour l’environnement. Cette étude porte sur les risques potentiels correspondant à la « dangerosité » des matières actives présentes dans les pesticides distribués pour le coton. Nous avons recensé 174 pesticides homologués par le Comité sahélien des pesticides (CSP) destinés à la culture du coton, dont 106 insecticides et fongicides et 68 herbicides. Ils sont formulés à partir de 50 matières actives ; 10 sont interdites en Europe et se retrouvent dans 35 produits homologués (soit 20 % des produits disponibles). Un indice de risque de toxicité (IRT) sur la santé des utilisateurs a été calculé pour chacune des 50 matières actives tenant compte de leurs toxicités aiguë et chronique. Il montre que la pendiméthaline et la bifenthrine ont les IRT les plus élevés respectivement pour les herbicides et les insecticides. Un indicateur de contamination des sols et des eaux de surface et souterraine par ces matières actives a été calculé. Il montre qu’une matière active peut présenter un risque important pour la santé et avoir un fort niveau de toxicité pour l’environnement ou avoir un faible impact sur la santé mais présenter un risque élevé pour l’environnement. Une sensibilisation des différents acteurs sur les risques encourus par les pesticides permettrait de réduire leurs impacts sur la santé humaine et l’environnement. In Mali, pesticides used on cotton crops are a real public health and environmental problem. This study presents an analysis of potential risks corresponding to the “dangerousness” of active ingredient present in these pesticides for cotton. We identified 174 pesticides registered by the Sahel Pesticides Committee (CILSS-CSP) for cotton, including 106 insecticides and fungicides and 68 herbicides. They are formulated from 50 active ingredients; 10 are banned in Europe and are found in 35 registered products (20% of available products). For each active ingredient present in these pesticides, a Health Risk Index was calculated for the health of users. This indicator takes into account the acute and chronic toxicities of the different active ingredient. The results of our work show that, for herbicides, pendimethalin has the highest Health Risk Index; for insecticides, it is bifenthrin . We have also identified an indicator of soil, surface water and groundwater contamination by these active ingredients. The results show that an active ingredient could have a significant risk for health and have a high level of toxicity to the environment or have a low impact on health but have a high risk for the environment. Rising awareness among stakeholders about the risks of pesticides would reduce their impact on human health and environment.

Over the last few years, intensive agriculture has often been denounced as a source of negative effects, particularly at the environmental and health level (overexploitation of natural resources, degradation of their quality, appearance and development of several diseases, etc.). Reducing the excessive use of agricultural inputs for the protection of the environment and the preservation of human and animal health is a social requirement nowadays. Investing in more sustainable agricultural models which make it possible to reduce, or even eliminate the risks, has become urgent. A possible solution may be to resort to agroecological systems. In order to be sustainable, these new systems must be performant at the agronomic, economic, social, and environmental levels. There is a multitude of tools for assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems. These tools are inappropriate for organic and agroecological systems, and do not make it possible to measure the agroecological transition performance of farms (Trabelsi et al. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:139–156, 2016 ; Trabelsi 2017 ). This research project aims to design a decision support tool in order to help farms throughout the agroecological transition process, to assess the performance of this transition, and to put forward improvement scenarios. Contrary to other assessment methods, ESSIMAGE (Evaluation and Simulation of Agroecological Systems) is based on both pressure and impact indicators, and takes the specificities of agricultural production systems into account. It is a dynamic tool which not only makes it possible to assess farm performance at the present moment but also to consider the future by putting forward possible alternative improvement scenarios and by simulating their consequences at a later stage. ESSIMAGE is based on the interaction of two elements: agro-environmental, social, and economic indicators, and the GIS (Geographic Information System) software. This tool has been tested as part of a CASDAR “Post-MAET Gimone” ( agriculture.gouv.fr/ministere/mobilisation-collective-pour-lagroecologie. ) project on the subject of “Collective mobilization for agroecology” by using farm data, most of the farms having been involved in an agro-environmental measure for the progressive reduction of phytosanitary treatments since 2008. It has made it possible to compare the agroecological performances of these farms with an optimal situation, as well as with each other. Considering the research objectives and the approaches discussed, this study is an original step in the development of agricultural management strategies in favor of agroecology.

The use of plant protection products enables farmers to maximize economic performance and yields, but in return, the environment and human health can be greatly affected because of their toxicity. There are currently strong calls for farmers to reduce the use of these toxic products for the preservation of the environment and the human health, and it has become urgent to invest in more sustainable models that help reduce these risks. One possible solution is the transition toward agroecological production systems. These new systems must be beneficial economically, socially, and environmentally in terms of human health. There are many tools available, based on a range of indicators, for assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems on conventional farm holdings. These methods are little suitable to agroecological farms and do not measure the performance of agroecological transition farms. In this article, we therefore develop a model for the strategic definition, guidance, and assistance for a transition to agroecological practices, capable of assessing performance of this transition and simulating the consequences of possible changes. This model was built by coupling (i) a decision-support tool and a technico-economic simulator with (ii) a conceptual model built from the dynamics of agroecological practices. This tool is currently being tested in the framework of a Compte d’Affectation Spéciale pour le Développement Agricole et Rural (CASDAR) project (CASDAR: project launched in 2013 by the French Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, on the theme “collective mobilisation for agroecology,” http://agriculture.gouv.fr/Appel-a-projets-CASDAR) using data from farms, most of which are engaged in agroenvironmental process and reducing plant protection treatments since 2008.

Faced with health, environmental, and socio-economic issues related to the heavy use of pesticides, diffuse phytosanitary pollution becomes a major concern shared by all the field actors. These actors, namely the farmers and territorial managers, have expressed the need to implement decision support tools for the territorial management of diffuse pollution resulting from the plant protection practices and their impacts. To meet these steadily increasing requests, a cartographic analysis approach was implemented based on GIS which allows the spatialization of the diffuse pollution impacts related to plant protection practices on the Etang de l’Or catchment area in the South of France. Risk mapping represents a support-decision tool that enables the different field actors to identify and locate vulnerable areas, so as to determine action plans and agri-environmental measures depending on the context of the natural environment. This work shows that mapping is helpful for managing risks related to the use of pesticides in agriculture by employing indicators of pressure (TFI) and risk on the applicator’s health (IRSA) and on the environment (IRTE). These indicators were designed to assess the impact of plant protection practices at various spatial scales (field, farm, etc.). The cartographic analysis of risks related to plant protection practices shows that diffuse pollution is unequally located in the North (known for its abundant garrigues and vineyards) and in the South of the Etang de l’Or catchment area (the Mauguio-Lunel agricultural plain known for its diversified cropping systems). This spatial inequity is essentially related to land use and agricultural production system. Indeed, the agricultural lands cover about 60% of the total catchment area. Consequently, this cartographic analysis helps the territorial actors with the implementation of strategies for managing risks of diffuse pollution related to pesticides use in agriculture, based on environmental and socio-economic issues and the characteristics of the natural environment.

In Mali, pesticides used on cotton crops are a real public health and environmental problem. This study presents an analysis of potential risks corresponding to the “dangerousness” of active ingredient present in these pesticides for cotton. We identified 174 pesticides registered by the Sahel Pesticides Committee (CILSS-CSP) for cotton, including 106 insecticides and fungicides and 68 herbicides. They are formulated from 50 active ingredients; 10 are banned in Europe and are found in 35 registered products (20% of available products). For each active ingredient present in these pesticides, a Health Risk Index was calculated for the health of users. This indicator takes into account the acute and chronic toxicities of the different active ingredient. The results of our work show that, for herbicides, pendimethalin has the highest Health Risk Index; for insecticides, it is bifenthrin . We have also identified an indicator of soil, surface water and groundwater contamination by these active ingredients. The results show that an active ingredient could have a significant risk for health and have a high level of toxicity to the environment or have a low impact on health but have a high risk for the environment. Rising awareness among stakeholders about the risks of pesticides would reduce their impact on human health and environment. Au Mali, l’usage des pesticides sur la culture de coton constitue un réel problème de santé publique et pour l’environnement. Cette étude porte sur les risques potentiels correspondant à la « dangerosité » des matières actives présentes dans les pesticides distribués pour le coton. Nous avons recensé 174 pesticides homologués par le Comité sahélien des pesticides (CSP) destinés à la culture du coton, dont 106 insecticides et fongicides et 68 herbicides. Ils sont formulés à partir de 50 matières actives ; 10 sont interdites en Europe et se retrouvent dans 35 produits homologués (soit 20 % des produits disponibles). Un indice de risque de toxicité (IRT) sur la santé des utilisateurs a été calculé pour chacune des 50 matières actives tenant compte de leurs toxicités aiguë et chronique. Il montre que la pendiméthaline et la bifenthrine ont les IRT les plus élevés respectivement pour les herbicides et les insecticides. Un indicateur de contamination des sols et des eaux de surface et souterraine par ces matières actives a été calculé. Il montre qu’une matière active peut présenter un risque important pour la santé et avoir un fort niveau de toxicité pour l’environnement ou avoir un faible impact sur la santé mais présenter un risque élevé pour l’environnement. Une sensibilisation des différents acteurs sur les risques encourus par les pesticides permettrait de réduire leurs impacts sur la santé humaine et l’environnement.

The health, environmental and socio-economic issues related to the massive use of plant protection products are a concern for all the stakeholders involved in the agricultural sector. These stakeholders, including farmers and territorial actors, have expressed a need for decision-support tools for the management of diffuse pollution related to plant protection practices and their impacts. To meet the needs expressed by the public authorities and the territorial actors for such decision-support tools, we have developed a technical-economic model “OptiPhy” for risk mitigation based on indicators of pesticide toxicity risk to applicator health (IRSA) and to the environment (IRTE), under the constraint of suitable economic outcomes. This technical-economic optimisation model is based on linear programming techniques and offers various scenarios to help the different actors in choosing plant protection products, depending on their different levels of constraints and aspirations. The health and environmental risk indicators can be broken down into sub-indicators so that management can be tailored to the context. This model for technical-economic optimisation and management of plant protection practices can analyse scenarios for the reduction of pesticide-related risks by proposing combinations of substitution PPPs, according to criteria of efficiency, economic performance and vulnerability of the natural environment. The results of the scenarios obtained on real ITKs in different cropping systems show that it is possible to reduce the PPP pressure (TFI) and reduce toxicity risks to applicator health (IRSA) and to the environment (IRTE) by up to approximately 50 %.

The excessive use of plant protection products (PPPs) has given rise to issues of public and environmental health because of their toxicity. Reducing the use of toxic PPPs and replacing them with products that are less toxic for human health and the environment have become socially, environmentally and economically indispensable. In this article, we assess the plant protection practices of a small group of winegrowers practicing “integrated agriculture” in the south of France, in order to measure the benefit of using toxicity risk indicators as a decision-support tool for different players in land management. An analysis of plant protection practices using indicators of the risk to operator health and the environment (IRSA, IRTE), together with a frequency-of-treatment indicator (TFI), enabled us to (i) show the variability of these indicators depending on the production system and farmers’ pesticide use strategies and (ii) calculate correlations between these indicators. This analysis of plant protection practices at different scales (farm, field), carried out in collaboration with the growers, enabled us to perform an initial validation of decision-support tools for determining risk management strategies regarding the use of pesticides.

Nucleotide sequence analysis was performed with the Maxam--Gilbert method on a cloned woodchuck hepatitis virus DNA (Eco WHV DNA). The structural gene coding for the envelope protein of the virus was localized on the viral genome in the partially single-stranded region between map positions 91.2 and 71. This gene is composed of 669 nucleotides and can code for a polypeptide of 25,645 daltons. The DNA sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence were compared with those of the corresponding gene and surface antigen of the related hepatitis B virus, allowing some insight into the localization of the antigenic site.