CHAMPIONING AGRICULTURE. Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan’s vice-president for social development Roel Ravanera presents his paper, “Green Pesticides for Sustainable Development” at the International Seminar on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development: Issues, Challenges, and Prospects. Supplied photo.
A study fortifies the importance of green pesticides, also known as "bio-pesticides," which are a set of tools and applications that can bolster the transition of Asian farmers away from the use of highly toxic conventional synthetic chemical pesticides into a more sustainable agricultural development.
In his paper presentation titled “Green Pesticides for Sustainable Development,” Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan’s vice-president for social development Roel Ravanera championed agriculture as a pivotal component in overcoming massive poverty, hunger, and resource degradation to attain sustainable growth in Asia.
“Agriculture can play a vital role in overcoming these challenges as the region is home to the largest number of the world’s poor, majority of whom reside in the rural areas and dependent on farming for a living,” said Ravanera, former dean of Xavier Ateneo's College of Agriculture.
Ravanera was among the academic leaders in Asia who made a presentation at the "International Seminar on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development: Issues, Challenges, and Prospects," held on January 20 and 21 at the Loyola Academy Degree and PG College in Secunderabad, Telangana, India.
MAKING SOLUTIONS. Students and leaders from various fields of chemistry and agriculture converge at the "International Seminar on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development: Issues, Challenges, and Prospects," on January 20 and 21 at the Loyola Academy Degree and PG College in Secunderabad, Telangana, India. Supplied photo.
Crop production, according to Ravanera, will have to “increase significantly” to meet the needs of a rising human population in the region. But he cautioned that this has to be done without damaging the other public goods, such as the environmental and social benefits, that farming brings to urban and rural communities.
“One way of doing this is to improve the management of pests that reduce crop yield by about 40%,” he said.
Ravanera recognizes the enormity of this development challenge and the roles of other sectors in promoting and sustaining the use of green pesticides.
“Although it is only part of a larger solution, [green pesticides] play an important role in providing safe environment and human conditions,” he said.
AT THE LOYOLA ACADEMY DEGREE & PG COLLEGE. Participants of the "International Seminar on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development: Issues, Challenges, and Prospects" strike a pose after the event. Supplied photo.
Ravanera represented Xavier Ateneo, through the support of the Office of International Cooperation and Networking (OICN), to this international seminar, which served as a venue for leaders to discuss various issues and prospects of green chemistry and technology to provide solutions to Asia’s pressing problems.
Students, faculty members, industrialists, researchers, and scientists from the fields of chemistry, chemical technology, pharmaceutical, and agriculture across Asia attended the said seminar. ∎
SOLIDARITY. Xavier Ateneo vice-president for social development Roel Ravanera joins fellow leaders during a ceremony at the "International Seminar on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development: Issues, Challenges, and Prospects" in Secunderabad, Telangana, India. Supplied photo.