The issue of illegal agro-chemicals entering the local market has surfaced recently and apparently is causing some difficulties for our farmers as several letters in this newspaper have appeared expressing serious concern on the matter. Indeed it is a matter which should be given serious attention with a view to stamping it out because illegal chemicals could have severe adverse effects. For one the treasury of Guyana is being robbed of revenue and legal distributors and agents are faced with unfair competition. At the same time these chemicals could create serious health hazards and have severe negative impact on the environment and crops as well. The latter we can ill afford because our economy is agriculture based and any adverse effect on the agriculture sector would have debilitating long term consequences on our developmental thrust and objectives.
What is even more worrisome is that this illegal agro-chemicals trade seems to be widespread globally and this could become a bigger challenge to control. According to the Malaysian Star newspaper it is a serious problem affecting farmers in Malaysia.
“Under the Pesticides Act 1974, 28 insecticides, herbicides and fungicides have been banned. However, the notorious endosulfan, a highly acute toxin and a suspected endocrine disruptor, which was banned in November 2005 with a one year phase-out period to clear existing stocks is still widely applied in rice farms.”
“Marketed under the trade name of Thiodan by Bayer, endosulfan is heavily relied on by farmers in the Mada scheme to solve all sorts of pest attacks.”
“Endosulfan is banned in more than 50 countries. Due to its high toxicity and high potential for bioaccumulation and environmental contamination, a global ban on the use and manufacture of endosulfan is being considered under the Stockholm Convention. The international agreement to phase out harmful chemicals referred to as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) decided at its meeting last October to list endosulfan as a POP by its next meeting at the end of the year.”( Malaysia Star)
Frederick M. Fishel in his article: “The Global Increase in Counterfeit Pesticides” notes:
“In Europe and other areas of the world counterfeit and illegally traded pesticides are on the increase. These illegal products are produced and distributed by criminal gangs. The products are untested and unregulated, and they threaten the health of farmers and consumers, as well as posing risks to the natural environment. Counterfeit pesticides that make their way into the United States threaten the integrity of those industries which depend on the benefits of pesticide use.”
“The scale and scope of the illegal manufacture and trade of counterfeit pesticides differ from market to market depending on countries specificities. In a 2008 report, Counterfeit Pesticides across Europe, the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) provides a detailed overview of the problem, as well as possible solutions, including information on the overall problem within various European countries.”
“Fighting counterfeit pesticides is a complex task. In Europe, although regulations governing pesticide use are abundant, inadequate attention is devoted to enforcement of these regulations. This dichotomy has led in recent years to a dramatic increase in illegal, counterfeit pesticides in European countries.”
The grave nature of the problem requires urgent actions by all stakeholders, including state regulatory authorities, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), commodity/trade associations, national governments and supranational entities, as well as agricultural producers and the food and pesticide industries.”
Fishel also points out that the ECPA estimates that 5 – 7 percent of annual trade is affected by counterfeiting and illegal trade. At the time of this publication, the value is estimated in US dollars to be $260 – $370 million of the European pesticide business across Europe. In some regional hot spots, 25 percent or more of the pesticide market is estimated to be counterfeit.
So the matter is certainly not a trifling one and with our large and porous borders it could pose tremendous difficulties in curbing it if we do not nip it in its bud.
In this context, it was assuring that Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud alluded to the problem and gave the undertaking that 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.”