Nghe An focuses on collecting and treating plant protection waste
(Baonghean.vn) - From 2017 to present, implementing the plan to build a system of tanks to collect and treat packaging and pesticide bottles after use in the fields, the issue of collecting and treating this type of hazardous waste in the province has had significant improvements.
Efforts to close the collection tank system
Yen Thanh district has more than 44,000 hectares of agricultural land, of which over 13,200 hectares are rice fields, accounting for over 10% of the rice area of Nghe An province. In conditions where pests on rice plants frequently arise, the issue of prevention is of great concern to people, and the amount of pesticides used in the fields is also very large.
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Pests and diseases frequently appear on rice plants, requiring regular use of pesticides. Photo: Phu Huong |
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Duong - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee, if the regulations of the Joint Circular of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment are met, the rice growing areas of the district will need 4,400 tanks to collect and treat packaging and bottles of pesticides after use in the fields. In 2017, Yen Thanh district was supported to build 1,103 tanks in 10 communes. In response to the actual needs of production, this year, the Nghe An Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection will continue to build 1,112 tanks in 12 communes of the district including Son Thanh, Bao Thanh, Khanh Thanh...
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Yen Thanh farmers use herbicides in spring rice production. Photo: Phu Huong |
“In the context of limited budget resources and the inability to balance the funding sources to close the collection tank system, in addition to the support of the province, we also directed the communes to mobilize internal resources and build more tanks. In particular, we will step up propaganda, raise people's awareness, and limit the situation of indiscriminately dumping bottles and packaging on the roads, fields, and ditches, especially in places where tanks have been installed. At the same time, we will attach responsibility to the commune and hamlet authorities in handling cases of intentional failure to collect waste in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Law,” said Mr. Duong.
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Farmers use pesticides on vegetables. Photo: Van Truong |
In Do Luong district, with an area of 12,011 hectares of annual crops, of which 8,972 hectares are not flooded and can be used to place tanks to collect pesticide packaging, the total number of tanks needed is 2,991 tanks. By the end of 2020, after receiving support to build 873 tanks from the provincial program and the number of tanks invested in and installed by communes, the whole district still lacks 1,980 tanks to meet the demand.
Mr. Nguyen Kim Ngoc - Deputy Director of the District Agricultural Service Center said: This year, Do Luong continues to invest in building 555 more tanks in 6 communes of Dang Son, Lam Son, Thai Son, Thuan Son, Trang Son and Trung Son. These are communes that almost do not have tanks to store plant protection waste, while with a total agricultural production land area of nearly 2,000 hectares including more than 1,400 hectares of rice and 538 hectares of vegetables and short-term crops, the demand for tanks here is 723.
Improve collection and treatment efficiency
In the current agricultural production conditions, the use of pesticides is inevitable. According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, pesticide packaging and bottles are mainly made of nylon and plastic bottles, so they are very difficult to decompose and can last for decades, even hundreds of years in natural conditions. According to estimates, only about 40% of the amount of pesticides sprayed on the fields comes into direct contact with pests, the remaining 50% remains in the packaging, flies into the air, and is especially washed away by water flowing into canals, ponds, and lakes.
Not only does it directly affect the person spraying the pesticide, and it can penetrate into the body during use, but pesticides can also harm the health of consumers when they enter agricultural products, and can cause death if there is severe acute poisoning; in cases of chronic poisoning, the drug penetrates the body and accumulates in the body, causing genetic mutations and cancer.
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Leaders of the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection inspect and guide the process of growing safe oranges in Con Cuong district. Photo: Phu Huong |
According to information from the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, each year the unit collects and safely processes about 2.5 tons of plant protection waste, accounting for only about 3.6% of the amount of plant protection packaging. The remaining amount of plant protection packaging is collected by people, burned or even thrown away haphazardly on the banks of fields, along the canals in the fields.
From 2017 to 2021, Nghe An built 4,134 tanks in Anh Son, Dien Chau, Do Luong, Thanh Chuong and Yen Thanh districts. With the support of the State as well as the efforts of localities and farmers, as of March 2022, the whole province had 15,536 tanks to collect pesticide packaging and bottles after use in the fields.
In 2022, Nghe An invested in building 1,667 collection tanks in Yen Thanh and Do Luong districts. Together with efforts to close the collection tank system, to raise awareness among localities and people about this issue, the Department organized propaganda conferences or integrated propaganda and community IPM, ICM, SRI classes for people about the harmful effects of pesticide bottle packaging after use in the field on the environment and public health.
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In many localities, the installation of plant protection waste tanks has significantly contributed to raising awareness of waste collection among producers. Photo: Nghe An Newspaper |
However, producers must be aware of collecting and treating, not littering, not using for other purposes, especially for storing, lining products, storing water or food. To properly manage the collection and treatment of plant protection waste, the People's Committees of provinces, districts and all levels and sectors also need to annually allocate funds to collect and properly destroy pesticide packaging after use in the fields.
