Illegal and counterfeit pesticides represent a growing transnational challenge at the intersection of crime and justice, trade, public health, and environmental protection. Often smuggled, diverted from legitimate supply chains, or falsely labelled, these products are traded across borders and in markets, undermining regulatory systems and enforcement efforts.
By evading safety and quality controls, they pose serious risks to farmers’ health, contaminate soils and water systems, reduce agricultural productivity, and compromise food safety. Their trade is frequently linked to broader illicit networks, including fraud, tax evasion, and organized crime, making effective responses particularly complex and requiring coordinated action across jurisdictions.
Against this backdrop, the GEF FARM Programme Knowledge Series webinar “Combating Illegal and Counterfeit Pesticides”, organized in partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Bio-innovation and Integrated Pest Management Action Plan, brought together stakeholders to examine these challenges and share experiences from policy, enforcement, and industry perspectives.
Building on the strong engagement generated by this webinar, a dedicated follow-up session was organized to continue the discussion and provide direct, practical insights from experts.
Titled “Ask the Expert: Illegal and Counterfeit Pesticides – The Conversation Continues”, the session took place on 23 April 2026 at 10:00 (CEST) and responded to the wide range of questions submitted by participants during registration and the live exchange.
The event took the form of a fully interactive live question-and-answer session, offering participants the opportunity to receive practical and targeted insights from leading experts.
The expert panel included:
- Siang Hee Tan, Executive Director, CropLife Asia
- Marco Musumeci, Programme Management Officer, United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)
- Jeff Moore, Global Head of Brand Protection, FMC Corporation, and member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Illicit Trade Expert Group
- Vito Buonsante, international lawyer specialising in environmental health, chemicals, waste and plastics governance
The session was moderated by Alison Watson, Agrifood Expert, GEF FARM Programme. With no presentations and a focus on direct exchange, the session addressed questions related to:
- national enforcement approaches and regulatory challenges
- cross-border cooperation and information sharing
- industry initiatives to protect supply chains and the role that technology may play in this regard
- practical measures at the farm level to mitigate risks.
This event provided a timely opportunity to deepen understanding of a rapidly evolving threat, strengthen cooperation among stakeholders, and advance effective, coordinated responses that support safe, transparent, and sustainable agricultural systems.
The recording of the “Ask the Expert” session is available on the FARM website.
About FARM
Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management (FARM) is a five-year, $379 million multi-country programme, with over $37 million funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and over $341 million in co-financing. The programme is led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and implemented by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). FARM aims to reduce the use of harmful pesticides and agricultural plastics in agrifood value chains. FARM is implemented through national projects in seven countries – Ecuador, India, Kenya, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Philippines, Uruguay and Viet Nam – and is supported by a global coordination team hosted by the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP).
