A senior official of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has instructed officials to stop the import of illegal pesticides and fertilisers into Cambodia to protect public health and the environment.
During a meeting at the Ministry yesterday on improving the management of pesticides and fertilisers, Kong Chanveasna, the Ministry’s Secretary of State, instructed officials to stop the import of illegal agricultural products, especially through border provinces.
He said that online sales of unregistered and inferior quality products are causing harm to the public’s health, the environment and other problems, so sales have to be monitored to prevent inferior products from entering the country.
To check the types of products entering Cambodia, Chanveasna also instructed officials to provide an import list for fertilisers and pesticides for the previous three years.
Chanveasna added that the General Department of Agriculture must improve cooperation at the national and sub-national levels and produce a monthly report on the import of pesticides and fertilisers.
He said that the General Department of Agriculture must check the agricultural laws and then instruct farmers, traders and consumers on how to best manage pesticides and fertilisers.
Chanveasna also urged officials to focus on ensuring food security, product quality and price stability, and assist new farming communities by deploying officials to help them reduce production costs and increase profits.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries spokeswoman Im Rachna could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Heng Kimhong, head of the research and advocacy programme of the Cambodian Youth Network Association, said yesterday that preventing the import of illegal pesticides and fertilisers is the correct course of action.
He added that illegal imports must be stopped and officials from the Ministry must provide proper supervision and monitoring to regulate pesticides and fertilisers entering the country.
“Our country is an agrarian economy. If we import poor quality fertilisers that degrade soil quality and affect people’s health then I support the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture to eliminate poor quality products,” he said.
Khmer Times
