1

C

FEBRUARY 2017 ISSUE Website: http://www.faopma.com

President: Mdm Huang Xiao Yun - (hxyun@cpca.cn)

Administrator: Catherine Yan - (info@faopma.com)

Editor: Doug Howick - (doug@tpaa.com.au)

___________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dear FAOPMA Members:

2016 was the past,

2017 is NOW !

2016 was a year of joy and partnership for our industry.

The shadows always become shorter once Spring

arrives, and along with it, a new beginning. Not only do

we relish our accomplishments in 2016, we also

confidently await an ever brighter 2017, which is full of

new hope.

2017 is an historic milestone for our industry, as it is

the very first year of the integration between

FAOPMA and the Pest Summit. The FAOPMA/ Pest

Summit 2017 in Thailand will be a testament to our

newly-formed partnership ( See Page 8 for details).

In addition, we are preparing for the launch of “World

Pest Day” on June 6th

worldwide. That also will be an

historic and memorable moment for our industry.

We should all get ready to take advantage of the new

opportunities and face the new challenges the new year

will bring. We shall cherish the value of friendship,

appreciate the care and support we receive, and strive for

the betterment of our industry through hard work.

Opportunities create excitement; creativities breed

vision, new year will open up doors to hope, and new

experiences will be the vessel which will carry us to our

dreams. 2017 is the year for us to set sail for this thrilling

voyage, and write a new chapter in our incredible

journey. We aim for higher goals because of our dreams

and the promises we made along the way.

Looking back at the year past, we had our share of

struggles and we were sometime confused, but since we

have our trust in one another, with relentless efforts from

our friends and colleagues, we are still making great

strides in our journey to the pursuit our dreams. I would

like to take this wonderful opportunity to pay my

respects and to thank all of our colleagues and readers.

An ancient Chinese proverb states: “A bigger bell will

produce a bigger sound”. People with bigger goals will

accomplish bigger things in life.

I wish everyone a healthy, prosperous, and happy

new year!

* * * * * * * * *

PPM News

NTACT

2

Bayer, Monsanto lobby Donald

Trump on $76bn mega-merger

Bayer wants to purchase Monsanto.

Jacob Bunge - The Wall Street Journal January 13, 2017

Bayer chief executive Werner Baumann and

Monsanto CEO and chairman Hugh Grant outlined

at the meeting Bayer’s planned $US57 billion ($76bn)

purchase of Monsanto, agreed to in September,

representatives for the companies said.

The German pharmaceutical giant’s planned purchase of

Monsanto is one of three planned multi-billion-dollar

deals set to reshape the global seed and pesticide

industry. The companies have said that combining

Bayer’s broad portfolio of pesticides with Monsanto’s

sector-leading capabilities in seed engineering would

accelerate breakthroughs in new crops and sprays.

However, some farmers worry that the consolidation will

boost the market power of the sector’s biggest players

and leave farmers with fewer choices for critical

supplies, and higher prices.

Several members of Mr Trump’s agricultural advisory

committee, formed to advise Mr Trump on farm policy

during last year’s presidential campaign, have spoken out

against the merger deals and called for the president-

elect to block them. Mr Trump has previously expressed

scepticism about mega-mergers, including AT&T’s

planned purchase of Time Warner, but he hasn’t weighed

in on the agricultural deals.

Monsanto’s Mr Grant said in an interview last month that

Monsanto hadn’t engaged with the Trump transition

team regarding the Bayer deal, but that the sale would

translate to larger investment in research and

development that would benefit farmers and create new

jobs.

Bruce Rastetter, a member of Mr Trump’s agricultural

committee and chief executive of Summit Agricultural

Group, an Iowa-based grain and livestock farming

operation, said he planned to raise his concerns about the

mergers directly with Mr Trump in the near future. The

meeting between the Bayer and Monsanto executives and

Mr Trump was reported earlier by Fox Business

Network.

Beyond Bayer and Monsanto, China National

Chemical Corporation is pursuing a $US43bn deal

for Swiss pesticide maker Syngenta.

Dow Chemical and DuPont are pursuing their own

merger that would unite their seed and crop chemical

businesses.

* * * * * * * * *

Roosters are said to be the most motivated

animal in the Chinese zodiac, and make their

careers a priority. They are hard-working and

able to deal with a variety of jobs due to their

multiple talents.

If you’re a rooster, you’re well suited to become

a journalist, salesperson, hairdresser, soldier,

surgeon or security guard.

Roosters who take the initiative will make good

career achievements in the upcoming year,

which will make up for the fickle finances from

the previous year of the Monkey.

* * * * * * * * *

Copyright Notice !

Items provided in "PPM News" are drawn from

a number of sources. The source of the item is

quoted, either by publication or organizations, in

line with the practice of fair reporting.

It is also relevant to note that neither the

content of articles nor comments of the Editor

are necessarily endorsed by FAOPMA or its

office bearers.

* * * * * * * * *

3

OrganiGram tightens medical

marijuana production after 2016

recall

Moncton company's CEO in shock when

unapproved pesticide found in organic product

By Kate Letterick, CBC News Posted: Jan 24, 2017

OrganiGram has been growing marijuana in Moncton

since August 2014. (Tori Weldon/CBC)

OrganiGram Inc. has tightened up the way it produces

medical marijuana after a recent recall, says the CEO of

the Moncton company. Denis Arsenault says he was in

shock when he found out that unapproved pesticide had

been detected in the product.

He says in the past, the company didn't test for pesticides

because Organigram Inc. is an organic company. "We

sold wholesale product to a competitor and they tested

for it and that's how they became aware of it and this was

in December, as you know." Arsenault said.

The company issued a voluntary recall for 69 lots of

medical marijuana supplied between August 2016 and

December 2016. On Jan. 11, Health Canada issued a

statement saying the voluntary recall had been expanded

to include dried marijuana and cannabis oil produced

between Feb. 1, 2016, and Dec. 16, 2016.

The statement says: "5 lots of product tested positive for

the presence of low levels of myclobutanil and/or

bifenazate which are not found in the 13 pesticides that

are authorized for use on cannabis plants under the Pest

Control Products Act. These two ingredients are found in

pest control products that are approved for use in food

production."

Health Canada also said no reports of any adverse

reactions has been reported.

Organigram is the only producer of medical marijuana in

New Brunswick that has been approved by Health

Canada. It is now changing procedures to make sure

nothing like that happens again.

* * * * * * * * *

Rentokil partners Qlik to better equip

IoT data for pest control

Sharmistha Mukherjee - Jan 21, 2017

Rentokil Initial, a British pest control and hygiene

solutions company, has partnered with Qlik, a player in

visual analytics, to gain better insights from its product

and global company operations data. According to the

company, this will support its wider global deployment

of new innovative digital pest control products and next-

generation services.

Qlik has joined Google and PA Consulting Group to

execute Rentokil’s mission to deliver its customers

predictive advice and connected solutions. Its cloud-

based Sense platform will be used to provide

visualizations of data from Rentokil’s Internet of

Things (IoT) product roll out.

This will use connected digital devices to deliver

proactive risk management against the threat of pest

infestation – for instance, mapping weather patterns with

rodent behavior or tracking swarms of insects as they

cross territories.

“Rentokil’s innovative use of the IoT to launch a new

generation of services is reflective of the possibilities a

connected world can bring,” said Simon Blunn, MD and

Country Manager, Qlik, UK&I.

So far, Rentokil claims to have extended its range of

connected rodent control products to over 20,000 digital

devices, running in 12 countries globally and generating

more than three million pieces of data. These IoT units

can automatically alert technicians when a rodent is

caught, while customers are kept informed through

the myRentokil online portal.

“Qlik’s platform will enable Rentokil to gain a new

depth of insight from its data and, crucially, empower

our front line staff with the latest information and real-

time trends, improving productivity. This level of data

visualization will be crucial as the company continues to

digitize and extend its IoT services, heralding the future

of pest control management,” said Paul Donegan, IT

Director, Rentokil Initial.

* * * * * * * * *

4

House of horrors: calls for a central

termite zoning framework

Angus Smith - January 6 2017

Jake Pace discovered termites in his Melton South home

less than a year after purchasing the property.

After making some calls, a pest exterminator told him

that there were termites in the backroom, the doorframes

and the gum tree out back.

Termites have attacked Mr Pace's doorframes.

"I was putting laundry into my

dryer and as I was doing that I

elbowed the architrave around

the door, I made a hole and saw

all these little white bug things,"

Mr Pace said.

The City of Melton does not

have any declared termite

zones. As a result, no termite

treatment is required when

building a new home in the

municipality.

Ian Stewart, manager, compliance for Melton City

Council said: "There has been no discussion regarding

changing declared zone status."

Mr Pace described the council's decision not to zone the

area as "complete bull". In the coming weeks Mr Pace

will have to pull down two gum trees and replace the

whole floor in his living room, as well as several door

frames. "It is gut-wrenching," Mr Pace said.

Arron Vilinskis, executive director of Termite Register -

an app which alerts residents of termite infestations -

said many home owners are unaware that general home

insurance does not cover termite damage.

"In the jobs I have done in Melton, homeowners were

unaware there was a need for any treatments to be done

prior to building their homes." There is not a

requirement for any protection measures to be put in

place in these areas even though "there are definitely

termites present in these areas", Mr Vilinskis said.

"The council [Melton] should have more information to

help homeowners understand their risk … but at the

moment people are unaware until it's too late." "Millions

of homes are at risk of termite attack."

Currently councils can zone their whole municipality or

part of their municipality as a termite zone, which

experts say can cause confusion and complacency.

Experts have warned that the Victorian government is

failing homeowners by not having a centralised termite

zoning framework.

Entomologist Don Ewart said that the Victorian

Building Authority (VBA) "dumps responsibility" onto

local government. "No other state does this. The CSIRO

told them the policy was wrong 15 years ago, but

they won't change. People have no recourse when their

new houses suddenly need costly repairs and upgrades,"

Dr Ewart said.

To compound the problem, the zoning structure in

individual councils changes over time.

"People buy houses having no idea of the increased risk

when they are in these unfortunate zones. Also, the

zoning has changed over time, so that a new house in

Knox will be okay with proper termite risk reduction, but

a mid 1990s one might not," he said.

VBA chief executive Prue Digby said "requiring all new

houses to be provided with termite protection would be

extremely costly and hard to justify for areas that do not

have any termites".

"Homeowners should be checking for termites

whether they are in a designated area or not."

* * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * *

5

Picture of rat in food warmer goes

viral

PETALING JAYA - 6 January 2017

A picture of a rodent inside a food warmer at a 24-hour

convenience store in Kelana Jaya has gone viral.

The image, which was appended to a Facebook post,

shows a rodent on top of a row of sausages and fish balls

at the 7-Eleven outlet in Kelana Centre Point.

The incident is reported to have taken place on Jan 2.

7-Eleven Malaysia responded to the viral post on

Friday, assuring that the issue was "an isolated

incident".

"Please be assured, this is an isolated incident as we have

certified quality assurance audits and regular pest control

steps in place to prevent such occurrences," it said in a

post on its Facebook page.

The company said it has conducted its own internal

investigations and has cooperated with the Health

Ministry office for the district of Petaling.

"The safety and well-being of our customers are of the

utmost importance to us," it said. It added that "further

corrective actions" would be taken to prevent such an

incident from recurring.

* * * * * * * * *

Authority cracks down on ads that

portray husbands 'negatively'

By Johnny Lieu

The dumb, lazy husband figure has long been a fixture of

both pop culture — think Homer Simpson and Phil

Dunphy of Modern Family — and advertising. But not

any more. Australia's Advertising Standards Board

(ABS) has ruled against an advertisement from a pest

control company, saying it "features a negative

stereotype of husbands," according to a recent

determination.

The radio ad by Allpest, shows a woman calling the

company and asking what kind of pests they get rid of,

including the line "what about my husband?"

Acting on a single complaint that the ad was a case of

gender discrimination, the majority of the board "felt that

community standards in this area have changed, and that

this style of humour was no longer acceptable." The

Board has previously cleared complaints about how men

are portrayed in ads. Now its determination could change

how advertisers script men.

On the Allpest hoo-ha, the Board wrote: "The Board

considered that this statement singles out husbands as a

group of people and implies that they are pests and need

to be gotten rid of." The decision was met with

disappointment from Allpest, who maintain the ad,

which is no longer on air was "tongue in cheek" and that

it continues to receive praise from the public, including

an industry award in 2015. (See below –Ed.)

The report stated a minority of the Board said the ad

"was consistent with acceptable family banter" and it

"did not suggest that the woman's joke should be taken

seriously, and that there was no malice or suggestion that

she wished to hurt her husband."

Thursday 14, May 2015

An ad promoting Allpest has won the 2015 Gold Siren

award for the best radio ad of the year. "We Don't Do

Husbands", by Matt Dickson, Creative Solutions

Director at Southern Cross Austereo Perth, also took out

the Silver Siren award in the Radio Campaign category.

Dickson's "We Don't Do Husbands" for pest control

company Allpest is part of a witty three ad campaign

involving back and forth husband and wife banter,

which won Dickson the Campaign Category in the

first round of Siren Awards judging in June last year.

The Allpest campaign has also been recognised by the

New York Festivals of World's Best Advertising being

recently announced as a finalist in the radio category.

6

Hawaiʻi to Receive $3.1 Million to

Fight Invasive Species

By Big Island Now - December 17, 2016

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard announced that Hawaiʻi will receive

$3.1 million to fight invasive species like the coconut

rhinoceros beetle, coffee berry borer, Rapid ‘ōhi‘a Death,

and fruit flies.

The funding, allocated from the U.S. Department of

Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service in accordance with Section 10007 of the 2014

Farm Bill, is part of 513 projects supported nationwide

that aim to prevent the introduction or spread of plant

pests and diseases that threaten U.S. agriculture and the

environment, as well as ensure the availability of a

healthy supply of clean plant stock.

The coconut rhinoceros beetle found recently on Oahu

is a major pest in the Philippines, Guam and elsewhere.

“In Hawaiʻi, invasive species like the coffee berry borer,

fruit fly, and macadamia felted coccid have cost our

farmers millions, and put hundreds of farms, thousands

of local workers, and our agriculture industry at great

risk,” said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

“The University of Hawaiʻi is very pleased to hear that a

new project has been funded through USDA-APHIS on

the management of the coffee berry borer in Hawaiʻi and

Puerto Rico,” said Ray Carruthers, Specialist at the

University of Hawaiʻi College of Tropical Agriculture

and Human Resources.

“The main thrust of this effect will be to coordinate

control efforts with on-going Federal, State and local

projects on CBB management, along with the additional

development of new insect biological control

technologies. We feel that developing, testing and the

eventual use of insect parasitoids will be a key for long-

term sustainable management of the CBB in both

Hawaiʻi and Puerto Rico,” Carruthers added.

* * * * * * * * *

GM mosquitoes to be released in India

Aedes agyptii mosquito. Only blood-sucking female

insects transmit viral pathogens when they bite.

by tg - 24.01.2017

Oxford-based Intrexion-subsidiary Oxitec plans to

release male GM mosquitoes that produce nonviable

offspring in India, to limit the spread of dengue and

chikungunya fevers transmitted by Aedes aegyptii.

Gangabishan Bhikulal Investment and Trading Ltd

(GBIT) and have launched the Friendly Aedes project

in Dawalwadi, India. Conducting outdoor caged trials,

the company want to demonstrate the efficacy of

Oxitec’s genetically sterile mosquitoes in suppressing the

local Aedes aegypti population. A field cage facility is

already in place. Following cage trials, GBIT and Oxitec

plan to conduct open field trials, pending approval from

the Indian regulatory authorities.

Oxitec’s OX513A male mosquitoes carry gene-cassettes

that expresses a protein called tetracycline repressible

activator variant (tTAV), which ties up the cell’s

machinery and prevents the expression of other genes

key to survival. As a result, the insect dies before it

reaches adulthood. Feeding the mosquitoes with the

antibiotic tetracycline, which binds and inactivates tTAV

tetracycline, allows breeding them in the lab. They also

contain a heritable, fluorescent marker to distinguish

them from native pest insects and to help scientists with

the management of pest control programmes.

Since 2011, GBIT and Oxitec have conducted successful

lab-based studies demonstrating the compatibility of

Oxitec’s mosquitoes with the local mosquito

population. Oxitec has some experience with its self-

limiting mosquitoes: five open field trials have been

conducted in Brazil, Panama, Malaysia, and the

Cayman Islands. According to the company, in each

trial wild Aedes aegypti populations were reduced by

more than 90%.

* * * * * * * * *

7

Giant condoms on termite mounds

spread the Be Safe message.

December 15, 2016

FACEBOOKTWITTERPINTERESTLINKEDINGOOGLE +EMAIL

Do not get distracted when you travel to the coast. This

giant condom fixed over a termite mound along the

road to Swakopmund is the brainchild of local

advertising agency, Advantage Y&R. The idea is to

constantly remind people on holiday, to Be Safe,

especially if a holiday party gets hot.

Holiday travellers from Windhoek to the coast is set for a

big surprise – litterally! A local ad agency, taking their

cue from a client’s brief, has mounted gigantic pink and

white condoms on strategically placed termite mounds

along the holiday route.

“Every year, Namibians flock to the coast to let loose,

strip down and have some fun in the sun. Travellers this

festive season have been treated to a unique sight: giant

pink and white condoms adorning the many termite

mounds found along the main road to the sea” stated

advertising agency, Advantage Y&R when they

announced the bizarre campaign.

“Namibia’s termite mounds stand proudly erect along

the roadside. Given their phallic shapes, they were a

perfect fit for the ‘condom-billboards’ “ said the agency

omitting to tell Namibians what phallic means.

All of the condoms feature a ‘BE SAFE’ message, as

well as a #YOLOBeSafe hashtag to spark a conversation

on social media, and create brand-awareness for YOLO.

Commodity Exchange is a 100% Namibian-owned,

award-winning condom manufacturer and medical

supplier based in Windhoek. They produce the new

YOLO condom. The company received a 2014 Quality

Award in New York from BID (Business Initiative

Directions). The company is ISO accredited and their

products carry the SABS quality seal.

Look to the leaves for clues to gold

deposits

By Kate Ravilious - 2 January 2017

Researchers in Western Australia posit that trees and

termite mounds could lead prospectors to paydirt

“There’s gold in them thar hills”, says Colonel Mulberry

Sellers in Mark Twain’s 1892 novel, The American

Claimant. There might have been some truth in it then

but, these days, gold prospectors could do better by

sampling termite mounds and leaves from acacia trees.

New research in Western Australia reveals where

remaining gold deposits might be hiding.

Across the world, most of the easy gold (outcropping at

the Earth’s surface) has already been found and gold

miners have to be a bit more cunning. One area that

hasn’t been searched thoroughly is underneath sediments

and soils. But how does a modern gold prospector know

where to start digging?

Ravi Anand, from the Commonwealth Scientific and

Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and his

colleagues gathered hundreds of samples of sediments,

soil and acacia leaves from Moolart Well gold deposit,

400km north-east of Kalgoorlie. After analysing the gold

content of all the samples they showed that clusters of

gold occurred in zones rich in organic carbon (carbon

derived from living material).

Termite mounds after a bushfire in Western Australia.

Photograph: Auscape/UIG/Getty

Anand and his colleagues believe that much of the gold

in the older sediments came from underlying gold-

bearing rock, via chemical and biological processes

when the climate was humid. Subsequently, gold was

transferred into younger sediments by the action of

burrowing creatures, erosion and flooding, during the dry

climate phase of the past few million years.

The samples from termite mounds and acacia leaves

reveal that gold is preferentially absorbed by living

material, and suggests that digging deep under gold-rich

trees and mounds could lead to veins of gold.

8

FAOPMA-Pest Summit 2017 The theme of the convention is:

New Perspectives of IPM in Urban and Public Health in Asia and Oceania

Venue:

The Empress Chiang Mai Hotel, Chiang Mai, Thailand

22 – 24 November 2017. The FAOPMA-Pest Summit 2017 is the first convention after the merger between the FAOPMA (Federation of Asian and Oceania Pest Manager Association) and the Pest Summit conventions. FAOPMA will be organizing the event in Thailand and the Organizing Committee has planned to invite some of the world most distinguished speakers in the field of urban pest management. We are targeting 1000 delegates in this convention, mainly pest management professionals, personnel of pesticide industries and some regional academics.

21 November 2017 1400 – 1800: Registration

FAOPMA’s AGM and AGM Dinner (pm)

22 November 2017 0700 – 0900: Registration

0900 – 1000: Opening Ceremony, Speeches and Tea break. 1030 – 1115: Keynote lecture – “Present Challenges and Issues Confronting the Pest Management

Industry and Vector Control in Asia “ - Prof Chow-Yang Lee - 1115 – 1215: Session 1: Urban and Public Health IPM in Perspectives

1215 – 1400: Lunch 1400 – 1530: Session 2: IPM in Public Health

1530 – 1600: Tea break 1600 – 1730: Session 3: New Innovations in pest management

23 November 2017 0830 – 1030: Session 4: IPM in buildings and structures

1030 – 1100: Tea break 1100 – 1230: Session 5: IPM and Pest Management Business

1230 – 1400: Lunch 1400 – 1530: Session 6: IPM in Industrial Facilities

1530 – 1600: Tea break 1600 – 1730: Session 7: IPM in Commercial Facilities

1900 – 2230: Gala dinner and closing ceremony.

24 November 2017 – AIB International Certification Program (Limited to 200 pax) 0900 – 1700: Training for AIB Certification (by Deryck Tremble)

* * * * * * * * *