Of the many statistics packed into Costa Rica’s “State of the Nation” report, a 430-page assessment of the country’s performance in a broad range of issue areas, some of the more surprising ones had to do with agrochemicals. “The country is very small in area, though our imports of pesticides are among [Latin America’s] highest,” Miguel Gutiérrez, the founder and director of the study, told the press and government officials when he unveiled the report last November. “With continued high usage of pesticides, pollution could begin to reach dangerous levels with serious health and environmental implications.” According to the report, Costa Rican imports of pesticides and agrochemicals increased over 340%, from 2,648 tons to 11,636, during the period 1977 to 2006 and in 2010... [Log in to read more]