One of FAIRWAY's major research themes is the identification and assessment of most promising measures and practices to decrease nitrate and pesticide pollution of drinking water supplies by agriculture (see »Farming practices: review and assessment).
Data and information collected from the Baixo Mondego case study was used in the research tasks as described here.
| Contents table |
| 1. Measures to decrease nitrate pollution |
| 2. Measures to decrease pesticide pollution |
| 3. Effectiveness of nitrate and pesticide measures |
1. Measures to decrease nitrate pollution
In »Review of measures to decrease nitrate pollution of drinking water sources we describe how FAIRWAY built on insights and results gathered in EU-wide and global projects and studies. We provide an overview and assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of measures aimed at decreasing nitrate pollution of drinking water sources. As part of the review, the Baixo Mondego case study provided information about the measures that have been implemented in the local area.
| Name of measure | Control of input through management system approaches |
| Target | |
| Description | There is a tight control of the amount of pesticides that a farmer can buy, and each farmer, must make a course and pass an exam to be able to buy pesticides. The level of the course depends on how professional you are and the amount of land you have. Even people with backyards need to have an habilitation to be able to buy pesticides. There is also a control on the amount of fertilizers, either mineral or organic that you can by or dispose in the area they have available. |
| Mode of action | This is a management system approach, where a documental management system has to be set im place, and where control checks are performed. It requires a database with all the information on farmers, their parcels and crops, which is available to the sellers, that are not allowed to sell more than is needed for the area and crops. The farmer has to maintain a documental system that witnesses what, when and the amount of substances applyed, both pesticides and fertilizers. |
| Expected effectiveness | High: >25% decrease in concentration/load |
| Expected cost | Low: < 10 euro per ha |
| Underpinning | Unknown |
| Applicability | Yes (on more than 75% of the agricultural land) |
| Adoptability | Yes (more than 75% of the addressees) |
| Other benefits | Yes, decreases energy costs There is a more judicious use of production factors. |
| Disadvantages | No |
| References | |
| Additional comments | This has just started to be applied, so no results yet (my father which has a backyard that he farms, needed to make a specific pesticide course to be able to buy the amount of pesticides he needs, and the sellers will cross the information of area and crops before they sell any pesticides). In addition, there are controls to the amount of mineral and organic fertilizers. A document register has to be kept to be monitored by external experts if needed. |
2. Measures to decrease pesticide pollution
In »Review of measures to decrease pesticide pollution of drinking water sources we describe how FAIRWAY also built on insights and results gathered in EU-wide and global projects and studies. We provide an overview and assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of measures aimed at decreasing pesticide pollution of drinking water sources. Again, as part of the review, the Baixo Mondego case study provided an overview of the measures that have been implemented in the local area.
| Name of measure | Control of input through management system approaches |
| Target | |
| Description | There is a tight control of the amount of pesticides that a farmer can buy, and each farmer, must make a course and pass na exam to be able to buy pesticides. The level of the course depends on how professional you are and the amount of land you have. Even people with backyards need to have an habilitation to be able to buy pesticides. There is also a control on the amount of fertilizers, either mineral or organic that you can by or dispose in the area they have available. |
| Mode of action | This is a management system approach, where a documental management system has to be set im place, and where control checks are performed. It requires a database with all the information on farmers, their parcels and crops, which is available to the sellers, that are not allowed to sell more than is needed for the area and crops. The farmer has to maintain a documental system that witnesses what, when and the amount of substances applyed, both pesticides and fertilizers. |
| Expected effectiveness | High: >25% decrease in concentration/load |
| Expected cost | Low: < 10 euro per ha |
| Underpinning | Unknown |
| Applicability | Yes (on more than 75% of the agricultural land) |
| Adoptability | Yes (more than 75% of the addressees) |
| Other benefits | Yes, decreases energy costs There is a more judicious use of production factors. |
| Disadvantages | No |
| References | |
| Additional comments | This has just started to be applied, so no results yet (my father which has a backyard that he farms, needed to make a specific pesticide course to be able to buy the amount of pesticides he needs, and the sellers will cross the information of area and crops before they sell any pesticides). In addition, there are controls to the amount of mineral and organic fertilizers. A document register has to be kept to be monitored by external experts if needed. |
3. Effectiveness of nitrate and pesticide measures
The information about 34 different nitrate mitigation measures, implemented locally in 10 different FAIRWAY case studies, was collected and analysed. The measures were aggregated by type and the average/overall scores for effectivity, cost, applicability, and adoptability were assessed from the individual records and comments. See »Management practices that reduce nitrate transport - Results and discussion - Case studies.
Similarly, information about 17 different pesticide mitigation measures, implemented locally in 7 different FAIRWAY case studies, was collected and analysed. The measures were evaluated for their cost and effectiveness for reducing pollution of groundwater and surface water. See »Management practices that reduce pesticide transport - Results - Case studies
Note: For full references to papers quoted in this article see