THE Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Regional Administration in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), conducted a seminar on marketing, post harvesting management and pesticide control at Anna Regina Town Hall, on Tuesday. A representative of the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI), Mr. Premdat Beechan told scores of cash crop farmers that post harvest management is very important, especially to the export of fruits and vegetables.
He also spoke about cleaning fruits and vegetables, packaging and transportation and post harvest treatment of produce.
Inspector of the Pesticides Board, Mr. Suresh Amichand warned of the danger of being exposed to pesticides, which can cause serious health problems.
He discussed the Pesticides Act and regulations, benefits and risks attached to the usage, the importance of knowing the poisons, registration and reading labels on the containers.
Amichand said there are 100,000 diseases that affect crops worldwide, 30,000 different species of weeds that compete with plants and 10,000 species of plant eating insects.
About pesticide labeling, he said all labels must be in English and no farmer should purchase expired imports for use in the agriculture industry.