OPINION | Who speaks the truth: FAO statistics, farmers…or the bees?

Has Saint Lucia become one of the world's most pesticide-intensive agricultural nations? According to the FAO's latest pesticide indicators, the answer appears to be yes. Yet that conclusion has sparked vigorous debate among farmers, policymakers and the wider public. However, both positions share the same weakness: neither is supported by direct scientific evidence of what is actually happening in our agricultural environment.