Government is moving to create more awareness of the use of chemicals and pesticides in agriculture and will move towards strengthening border controls since illegal chemicals are still being smuggled into the country, putting at risk the health of persons and the integrity of the environment.
This is according to Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, who was speaking yesterday the inaugural meeting for the formation of an Inter-Agency Committee to address the issues of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) in Guyana, through the development of a National Implementation Plan under the Stockholm Convention.
The meeting was held in the boardroom of the Ministry of Agriculture on Vlissengen Road in the city. “We have done a lot of work in terms of securing the resources so that we can be compliant under the Stockholm Convention. We are today positioning ourselves as a major exporter of food. And any buyer of food would want to ensure that our regime of controls and management systems are rigid and conform to international standards,” Minister Persaud said. He said he expects the committee to deliver the national implementation plan in very little time, because of the competencies of its members.
Persaud said one of the bold steps that the Government has taken is to ensure that the agriculture sector is prepared for export and to ensure that what people produce and consume are done under the best environmental standards and safeguards. He said the Pesticides Board in recent times has been building up its capacity not only from a human standpoint but also from a resources standpoint in terms of laboratories. “Our labs could be considered among the most modern. In recent weeks we have seen some dramatic developments,” he said.
He said from time to time stakeholders have been raising concerns over smuggling of illegal chemicals, especially since Government has published a list of approved and non-approved chemicals and pesticides. “These are a concern, because several of these are banned since they are considered unsafe for our environment,” the Minister said.
Persaud said the Government will look at ways in which to toughen up on enforcement against smuggling of chemicals, working with customs authorities to achieve this objective. “Frankly speaking, we have very porous borders,” he said, adding that the officials who man these borders must be made fully aware of what is allowed in and what is not. “So from that standpoint, we’re putting a lot of effort in that direction,” the Minister said.
The Minister said that despite education programmes and a great degree of moral suasion, “we still find to some degree that our farmers are willing to use the illegal chemicals and pesticides.” He continued: “I want to again make an appeal for their own health and for the health of the consumers that we should stick with the approved list; and when we are not clear, the Pesticides Board is there to offer guidance, because they will damage the health of themselves and people who work with them too.”
The Minister said within the rice and sugar industries, there is strict management and training in the use of chemicals, since in both of these sub-sectors chemical use comprises a major part of the production process. He said at the Guyana Sugar Corporation, a lot of emphasis is put on the workers’ use and interaction with chemicals and pesticides. He said it is the same in the rice industry and noted that these efforts have to be ramped up in the other crops sector.
The Minister expressed his desire for the Pesticides Board to soon carry out a demonstration of the capacity of the laboratories to test for residue and looking at chemical application and its effects. “And we will continue to build up our capacity through the Agricultural Diversification Project,” he said, adding that close to $100 million has been spent in terms of improving the capacity of the laboratories.
“I want to encourage all the stakeholders here to give the Pesticides Board their full support. I know that from time to time [there is a lengthy] registration process, but this is necessary if we are going to be certified as a country producing food for the export market,” the Minister said. He urged that they do not see the measures as a nuisance but as a necessary regime of control.
“We will ensure that we adhere and comply with all international conventions and protocols in this regard. That is the only way we can advance [as a food producing nation],” he said.
“I wish the steering committee well, and I want to add my voice of support for the project and the work of the committee,” the Minister said.