Raising people's awareness in handling pesticide packaging

Reporter:Pesticide residues have very serious effects on the environment as well as human health. So in reality, the current treatmentpackaging, pesticide bottlesHow has post-use been done to minimize these impacts, sir?

Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc:Nationwide, although many measures have been taken to promote and limit the use of chemical pesticides, the use of chemical pesticides is still widespread and difficult to control.

Since 2000, our country has used 35,000-100,000 tons of pesticides each year; from that huge amount of chemicals, thousands of tons of pesticide packaging and bottles have been thrown haphazardly into the fields. It is very worrying that normally, the amount of pesticides left in the packaging accounts for about 10% of the total amount of chemicals consumed.

With an annual planting area of ​​over 300 thousand hectares of various crops, each year Nghe An "consumes" 300-400 tons of pesticides, and discharges 25-30 tons of pesticide packaging into the fields.

Farmers in Hung Nguyen district spray pesticides on rice seedlings. Photo: Phu Huong

Previously, this amount of hazardous waste was mostly thrown directly into fields and water sources, and was rarely collected or treated, causing many dangerous effects, affecting human and community health, and is one of the causes of serious diseases in today's society.

In recent years, thanks to propaganda solutions to raise awareness, people have gradually become aware of the dangers of carelessly dumping pesticide packaging and bottles into fields and ditches.

Thanks to the support of the State as well as the efforts of localities and farmers, as of March 2022, the province has had 15,536 tanks to collect pesticide packaging and bottles after use in the fields.

Plant protection waste tank in Vien Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. Photo: Phu Huong

However, with an area of ​​nearly 154,000 hectares of land for rice, vegetables and short-term crops, it is possible to placecollection tank, then to ensure the requirements as stipulated in the joint circular of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, we must build 51,330 tanks. Thus, the whole province still lacks 35,794 tanks.

The number of tanks has not met the demand for collecting pesticide packaging and bottles, which has potentially caused many serious harms through the accumulation of pesticide chemicals in agricultural products, causing food safety and hygiene problems, affecting human health and the community.

Meanwhile, according to our investigation results, in recent years, pests on crops, especially newly introduced pests such as fall armyworms that damage corn, Southern black-striped dwarf disease... in districts in the province have become increasingly complicated and irregular, requiring farmers to use pesticides for prevention.

Reporter:In 2017, Yen Thanh district invested in building a tank to store packaging and bottles of pesticides after use. Why was this locality chosen again this year, sir?

Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc:Yen Thanh is one of the key rice production districts of Nghe An. The whole district has more than 44,000 hectares of agricultural land, of which over 13,200 hectares are rice fields, the total rice area accounts for over 10% of the whole province.

If the regulations on placing tanks for storing packaging and bottles of pesticides after use are met, the total number of tanks that need to be placed in the rice growing areas of Yen Thanh district is 4,400 tanks. As of March this year, 1,504 tanks have been installed, so the demand for the remaining tanks is very large, with a shortage of 2,896 tanks.

Lack of tanks has put Yen Thanh district in the same situation as many other localities in the province, which is a common situation where producers, after using pesticides, carelessly throw away packaging and bottles of pesticides in the fields. Meanwhile, in the district, pests on rice plants frequently arise, leading to farmers having to take precautions to protect production.

Farmers in Bac Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) use herbicides before sowing rice. Photo: Phu Huong

To gradually improve the system of collecting and treating pesticide packaging and bottles after use in the fields, and to educate farmers about the harmful effects of pesticide residues on humans and the community, from 2017 to now, Nghe An has invested in building 4,134 tanks.

Of which, in 2017, 1,103 tanks were built in 10 communes of Yen Thanh district; in 2018, 438 tanks were built in 7 communes of Anh Son district; in 2019, 850 tanks were built in 10 communes of Dien Chau district; in 2020, 873 tanks were built in 11 communes of Do Luong district and in 2021, 870 tanks were built in 10 communes of Thanh Chuong district.

In 2022, the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection will continue to build 1,112 tanks to collect pesticide packaging and bottles in 12 communes of Yen Thanh district, including: Son Thanh, Bao Thanh, Khanh Thanh, Lien Thanh, Ly Thanh, Dong Thanh, Hung Thanh, Kim Thanh, Quang Thanh, Tho Thanh, Phu Thanh and Tang Thanh.

Reporter:Along with building tanks, what solutions will be proposed to contribute to raising people's awareness and responsibility for properly collecting pesticide packaging and bottles, sir?

Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc:We must clearly see the reality that not only in areas where collection tanks have not been built, the situation of haphazardly dumping this type of dangerous "waste" is very common, but even in places where tanks are available, many farmers still do not have the awareness to collect and throw garbage into tanks, but still "conveniently" throw it right on the rice fields, on the banks of the fields, under the ditches, potentially causingrisk of pollutionenvironment, water resources.

Provincial leaders and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development inspect the use of plant protection waste tanks in the province. Photo: Phu Huong

Therefore, in addition to investing in building reservoirs to reduce the impact of pesticide residues on the rural environment, directly affecting cultivated land, water resources and agricultural products, Nghe An also pays great attention to and includes propaganda through many solutions to raise awareness and consciousness about this issue in its implementation plan.

The goal is to help people realize the terrible harm of pesticide residues to humans and the community, and gradually change the habit of producers indiscriminately discarding pesticide packaging and bottles in the fields.

Accordingly, along with propaganda on mass media, newspapers, radio and television, we plan to coordinate with the People's Committees of communes in Yen Thanh district to organize 24 conferences to propagate to people about the harmful effects of pesticide residues with 1,200 participants; broadcast on the commune's loudspeaker system the contents about the impact of pesticides on the environment and public health; guide the collection of packaging and bottles of pesticides after use in the fields.

When the system of tanks for collecting and treating pesticide packaging and bottles comes into operation, along with propaganda work on the harmful effects of pesticide residues, it will contribute to raising awareness and self-consciousness of people in protecting human and community health.

Reporter:Thank you!