As part of a two-day workshop, the Cuban-Swiss team informed the various local stakeholders about the SNSF-r4d project, ‘Influence of different pest-management systems in potato production on Pesticide Residues in Cuban Soils (PERECUSO)’.
Launched in October 2018, the project brings together scientists from Cuba’s National Center for Animal and Plant Health, CENSA (=Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria) and Agroscope’s Environmental Analytics and Swiss Soil Monitoring Network NABO Research Groups to investigate pesticide residues in the soil and in potatoes. Because of strong demand for the tuber on the island, the project aroused lively interest among farmers, Cuban environmental agencies and the national pesticide distributor alike.
PERECUSO supplements Agroscope’s current research on pesticide residues in soils, inter alia as part of the ‘Plant-Protection Products’ Action Plan.
The regional television broadcaster was also present, and reported on the project:
