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The use of pesticides represents a risk to human and environmental health.

Recent research suggests a relationship between exposure to them and an increased risk of health problems, as well as affecting the health of soil, water, and biodiversity.The SPRINT project (Sustainable Plant Protection Transition: A Global Health Approach SFS-04-2019-2020), which has just started and in which a consortium of research institutes and universities from 11 European countries participate together with colleagues in Argentina and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will develop a series of risk assessment tools for global health with the aim of evaluating the impact of pesticides on human health and adverse effects on plants, animals and ecosystems.SPRINT will pool knowledge and data from across Europe to find ways to improve the sustainable use of pesticides.

Working with farmers and legislators, researchers will find ways to support a transition to more sustainable plant protection.Several researchers from the Agronomists School of the UPCT contribute to the SPRINT project by providing a case study of horticultural crops in the Campo de Cartagena."We are very happy to start this project, which will answer many questions of vital importance for European citizens", says researcher Josefina Contreras.

"Within the wide variety of agricultural circumstances that SPRINT brings together, we contribute the knowledge of one of the areas where more treatments with phytosanitary products are carried out "."With the help of this project and the farmers we are sure that together we can help regulators and policy makers to make well-informed decisions to introduce more sustainable solutions in agricultural practices," explains researcher Francisco Alcón.The project at the UPCT is coordinated by Josefina Contreras and Francisco Alcón, who hope to "make a significant contribution to the EU's 'farm to fork' and biodiversity strategies."

Source: UPCT