The 12th FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Management (JMPM), hosted by WHO, was held at the Hotel Warwick in Geneva, Switzerland, from 19 to 22 November 2019. The agenda comprised updates on the activities of the joint Secretariat and participating organizations; a review of progress in developing new JMPM guidelines; plans for revision of existing guidelines; plans for revision of the JMPM terms of reference; discussions on emerging issues and priorities in pesticide management, including an overview of global actions on highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs), input to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the environmental and health impacts of pesticides and fertilizers, an update on activities of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on illegal trade in pesticides; a review of the conclusions and recommendations of the 2018 FAO–WHO global survey on pesticide registration and management practices; and consideration of other issues. The recommendations of the JMPM are summarized in section 19.

The 15th FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Management (JMPM), hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), was held on 15−18 November 2022 at the FAO headquarters in Rome. It was a hybrid meeting in which participants joined either physically or virtually. The meeting agenda included the following items: summary of developments and actions taken after the previous (14th) JMPM (14−15 October 2021); review of actions and recommendations from the 14th meeting; review of new guidance documents under development; revision of existing guidelines or guidance; planning development of new guidance documents and review of existing guidelines and related issues; emerging and priority issues in pesticide management, including gaps, challenges and future directions of FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO); revision of the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management (“the Code of Conduct”); and any other issues. The recommendations of the JMPM are presented in section 13 of this report.

The FAO/WHO Manual on development and use of FAO and WHO specifications for pesticides contains general principles and methodologies of the work undertaken by JMPS, is the continuous evaluation of new scientific developments and guidance documents. The Manual gives the historical background of the operation of the JMPS and describes the purpose of the work. The Manual is also used by countries as a guidance document in setting pesticide specifications. This 3rd revision of the Manual contains n ew methodologies/principles developed in recent 5 years and incorporates the current working principles applied by the JMPS.

The 14th FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Management (JMPM), hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), was held online on the afternoons of 14 and 15 October 2021. As for the 13th JMPM in October 2020, the meeting time was significantly reduced from the usual three-and-a-half days to two half days, because of the obligation to meet electronically due to COVID-19. The meeting included: an update on activities of FAO, WHO and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); a review of progress in the production of new FAO/WHO guidance and revision of existing guidelines; proposals for developing new guidance and revising existing guidelines; a discussion of how to promote use of the guidance and agreement on next steps; a presentation on progress in the action plan for highly hazardous pesticides and the UNEP/FAO/WHO report on the impacts of pesticides and fertilizers; a presentation by the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, followed by discussion of how a human rights-based approach could be reflected in FAO/WHO guidance and in the Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management (the Code of Conduct); and a presentation of the process for revising the Code of Conduct, followed by discussion of whether an update is necessary and the issues to be considered if one is undertaken. The recommendations made by the JMPM are summarized in section 12. The list of meeting participants is attached as Annex 1.

The monographs in this volume summarize the safety data on 11 pesticides that could leave residues in food commodities. These pesticides are aminopyralid, atrazine, azinphos methyl, lamba-cyhalothrin, difenoconazole, dimethomorph, flusilazole, procymidone, profenofos, pyrimethanil and zoxamide. The data summarized in the toxicological monographs served as the basis for the acceptable daily intakes and acute reference doses that were established by the Meeting. This volume and previous volumes of JMPR toxicological evaluations, many of which were published in the FAO Plant Production and Protection Paperseries, contain information that is useful to companies that produce pesticides, government regulatory officers, industrial testing laboratories, toxicological laboratories and universities.

The Procedural Manual of the Codex Alimentarius Commission is intended to help Member Governments participate effectively in the work of the joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The manual is particularly useful for national delegations attending Codex meetings and for international organizations attending as observers. It sets out the basic Rules of Procedure, procedures for the elaboration of Codex standards and related texts, basic definitions and guidelines for the operation of Codex committees. It also gives the membership of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Also published in French and Spanish.

Pesticide Management and Insecticide Resistance explores the problem of insect resistance to pesticides and reviews various approaches to pesticide management and safety. It looks at the environmental hazards of pesticide residues and their regulation, along with application techniques aimed at maximum efficiency against the pest and minimum waste to pollution, safety considerations in the development of pest control programs, and pesticide monitoring. Divided into eight parts encompassing 49 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the global pesticide industry and the costs of commercializing pesticides relative to their profit potential. It then introduces the reader to the release of fluorohydrocarbon propellants in pesticidal aerosols and their hazards to the ozone layer, management of pests in urban environments, international plant protection, the current status of DDT, the importance of training pest-control personnel, and procedures of forest spraying. Other chapters focus on pesticide management safety from a medical perspective; pesticide safety as it relates to the manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution of pesticides; importance of pesticide application equipment and related field practices in developing countries; and the importance of pesticides in successful pest management programs. This book is a valuable resource for scientists, students, researchers, and policymakers who want to ensure the safety of consumers, applicators, and harvesters when using pesticides.