The Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) has moved to back claims that the aerial spraying of fungicides on plantations is a safe practice.
PBGEA said in a paper entitled 'Global Positioning System (GPA): A New Technology for Farm Application' that the risk of spraying to humans has been greatly reduced since the introduction of GPS, which automatically shuts off spraying equipment when it leaves the designated area.
Some farmers and environmental groups in the country have raised questions about the safety of the practice, which is used to kill the sigatoka fungus, the Business Mirror reported.
But PGBEA said that the method remains the most cost-effective method of controlling the fungus.
Dr Emily Fabregar, head of PBGEA's technical committee, said that the use of GPS reduces the amount of fungicide use and allows no room for pilot error that could cause drift or off-target spraying.
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