Table 6.

A summary of success factors, challenges, and recommendations on paraquat phaseout in supply chains that were described during consultations with supply chain stakeholders (sources: survey responses from 7 supply chain stakeholders, i.e., 4 retailers, 2 ISEAL members, one producer company, 6 were in relation to Costa Rican pineapple, and 1 in relation to coffee. Dec. 2021–Mar. 2022)

Success factors:

• Farmer awareness raising, practical training, and learning from experiences of pioneering farmers are critical to successful phaseouta   • Changes in practice need investment, focused attention, and collaboration with others   • Raising the issue with suppliers and sharing of best practice at an early stage is key   • A clear policy position on HHP use from the retailer is important so that new/existing suppliers are aware   • Trusting supplier partnerships are important

Challenges:

• Farmers’ access to knowledge, alternatives, and finance may be limited   • Some growers are resistant to changing their agronomic practices   • Access to alternatives (e.g., decomposer microbes for Costa Rican pineapple) can be limited   • Poor government policies which do not support HHP phaseout in practice   • Agrochemical dealers influence farmer’s decision-making—for some farmers, these outlets are their only source of advice   • Current supply chain data system does not collect detailed data on IPM strategies used to replace paraquat, so it is hard to identify successful practices or work on improvement   • Retailer companies that demand progress on pesticide reduction but are not prepared to pay suppliers a little more for the effort and investment needed

Recommendations provided by respondents for other supply chain actors:

• Growers tend to want to see how alternatives work in practice before adopting them. Field visits and demonstration plots are key to convincing them and access to local positive experiences encourages them to implement these alternatives   • It is important to include IWM in farmer training to reduce overall reliance on herbicides, rather than just replacing one herbicide with another   • Supplier/grower working groups are an asset to discuss and review plans on a joint strategy to phase out paraquat   • Sharing information on mitigation and phase out plans among the supply chain helps to build momentum   • Growers need to be well informed of which biological alternatives can be used and how to apply them effectively   • A company vision of zero pesticide residues and maximizing natural control methods motivates growers to buy into the concept of phasing out paraquat, and it can also help to access rewarding markets

^aFactors in italics were reported by 3 or more respondents