Deploying a program to monitor chemical residues on agricultural products

(Baonghean.vn) -This morning, August 23, the Nghe An Agricultural Competitiveness Project Management Board coordinated with the Plant Protection Department to organize a conference to deploy the program to monitor chemical residues on agricultural products in Nghe An.

Nghe An province currently has over 15,000 hectares of fruit and vegetable production annually, with an output of 150,000 - 170,000 tons. According to the investigation results of the Plant Protection Department, every year, more than 60% of farmers use pesticides incorrectly. In 2011, the Department took 16 samples to test pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables at a number of markets and fields in Vinh City, Nam Dan, Dien Chau and Quynh Luu, and found that the level of pesticide contamination on leafy vegetables was over 15%, on fruit vegetables was 40%, and the number of samples exceeding the permitted level was over 61%.

At the conference, opinions were unanimous that the management of the use of pesticides on crops, especially on vegetables from production to consumption, has not received due attention, the use of drugs and stimulants is still arbitrary, the awareness of vegetable growers is still poor, while the work of propaganda, recommendations on food safety and hygiene and inspection and supervision still has many limitations.

To comprehensively and accurately assess the situation of pesticide residues on vegetables and fruits, the Agricultural Competitiveness Project will coordinate with the Plant Protection Department to implement a program to monitor chemical residues on agricultural products. Accordingly, it will collect and quickly analyze over 3,000 vegetable samples with 20 types of vegetables and fruits at risk of having pesticide residues exceeding the permitted level, at farmer households, wholesale markets, safe vegetable production areas and cooperative vegetable areas, in 7 districts and towns with large vegetable growing areas, namely Vinh City, Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Do Luong, Nam Dan and Hung Nguyen... from which, measures will be taken to contribute to improving state management as well as strengthening propaganda and recommendations to raise awareness for both producers and users of products./.

Phu Huong