Pesticide Labeling Initiative to Help Farmers Tackle Resistance

Andy Ward, CropLife International Director of Stewardship, talks about the crop protection industry’s voluntary commitment to include mode of action information on all product labels by 2023.

To support the widespread adoption of responsible resistance management practices, CropLife International members recently made a voluntarily commitment to include mode of action (MOA) labeling on all product labels by 2023.

Resistance management is an essential pillar of effective stewardship. If pests become resistant to the crop protection products that are designed to eliminate them, the pest will thrive. The inclusion of MOA information on product labels will ensure growers have simple access to critical information to support implementation of resistance management.

Our MoA labeling guidance provides a clear and simple method to inform pesticide retailers and users about the type of pesticide and its mode of action group. The MOA groups can be used to identify products with the same mode of action; these should not be used repetitively.

MOA labeling is currently only a regulatory requirement in a small number of countries, for example in Australia (see box), but we want to encourage all pesticide regulatory authorities to consider the mandatory use of MOA labeling.

In the meantime, we are encouraging all pesticide manufacturers – outside of our membership – to adopt voluntary MOA labeling on their products.

With the support of our fungicide, herbicide and insecticide resistance Action Committees (RACs), CropLife International continues to advance the understanding and practice of responsible resistance management. In addition to the MOA initiative, all RACs have communication resources which include websites, training modules, brochures, and posters to emphasize the need to increase diversity in pest control.

Australia leads by example on MOA labeling 

Australia was the first country to legally require pesticide manufacturers to add the mode of action (MOA) to their product labels as part of a strategy in the overall management of resistance to herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. CropLife Australia played a key role advocating for the legislation and the resistance management activity group classifications are determined by three CropLife Australia Resistance Management Review Groups, in conjunction with researchers, agronomists and farmers, and take into account any relevant Australian and international information. Current MOA tables are available on the CropLife Australia website.