AGP - Inadequate aid coordination

Inadequate aid coordination

Lack of communication among donor organizations and internal bureaucratic procedures can result in an accumulation of unwanted or unusable pesticides in developing countries.


Poor communication between donor agencies

When governments in developing countries make formal requests for pesticides, they can never be sure before hand whether their requests will be granted or whether the shipment will get there on time. As a result they may make the same request to several different agencies, especially in an emergency. Because aid agencies often are unaware of what the other is doing, the recipient country may receive the requested amount many times over. This has been a particular problem during locust and migratory pest control emergency operations. To keep this from happening, pesticide donations for such emergencies should be coordinated through FAO's Plant Protection Service.

Bureaucratic constraints

It can often take a long time for aid agencies to process donor requests for pesticides and deliver them to the country. As a result, the pesticides can arrive close to their expiry date or after the emergency has passed.

Also, because aid agencies' budgets often allocate funds for spending within a fixed period, pesticide procurement may be determined by the donor's need to use up available funds more than demand. Recipient countries may be reluctant to refuse aid offers even if the pesticides do not meet their specific needs and may not be used.

Many donor agencies have no central technical office for responding to pesticide requests. This responsibility often lies with the country desk. There may be little communication regarding pesticides among the country desks and with the technical and procurement departments. Consequently, there is little institutional memory built up within aid agencies that can insure that inappropriate pesticides donations are not repeated.


Eritrean family living in a store for obsolete leaking pesticides