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May 28, 2018 General
Cambodia Temporarily Bans Import of Herbicides

The Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) has issued an announcement to temporarily ban the import and distribution of all kinds of herbicides.

The measure was taken after poisoning cases were reported in Sre Non village, Kantuot commune, Chetr Borei district, Kratie province, and following an intensive investigation, the poisoning was caused by contaminated water.

The MAFF also ordered its line departments to conduct investigation, control and advise people about the effective and safe use of herbicides, added the announcement signed late last week by Minister of MAFF H.E. Veng Sakhon.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press

All the more dangerous herbicides and pesticides have been banned in neighboring countries for years, and then dumped on the markets here.

Pesticides and herbicides have been misused for years in Cambodia. Is this a wake-up call ?

28 May 2018
- An official statement from the ministry released Friday and signed by Minister Veng Sakhon says that the importation of pesticides into the Kingdom is now strictly prohibited.

The statement, however, fails to provide an expiration date for the ban.

In its statement, the ministry tasks agriculture officials and experts with conducting research on the proper use of pesticides and other chemicals used in agriculture, and teaching farmers their correct use to avoid future accidents.

The statement also demands that border authorities redouble efforts to stem the flow of illegal pesticides into the country, and asks the public to immediately report any cases of poisoning to the authorities.

It also urges farm owners and agricultural firms to contact their local agricultural departments so that they can receive advice on the proper techniques and safety standards that need to be followed when using pesticides.

Song Kheang, director of Mondulkiri’s Agriculture Department, said they have already been trained by the ministry on how to use pesticides properly and that they are now passing that knowledge to farmers.

“We are now telling farmers how to use these pesticides safely to avoid poison levels that could affect people’s health,” he said.

Sam Vithou, director of the Cambodian Centre for the Study and Development of Agriculture, said it is time for the government to tighten its grip on illegal pesticides, arguing that many such products enter the country without being inspected.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50494024/p ... ts-banned/

Ministry lifts ban on herbicides
13 June 2018

The import of agricultural pesticides and herbicides resumed yesterday after a two-week ban that was prompted by a poisoning case in Kratie province that hospitalised hundreds and left 13 people dead.

Two weeks ago, the Agriculture Ministry imposed a temporary ban on all imports following the poisoning case in Kratie province’s Chetr Borie district, where villagers fell ill from tainted stream water. The government blamed the tainted stream on toxic run-off from herbicides.

According to a ministry statement obtained yesterday, in response to the Kratie incident, Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon ordered the Department of Agricultural Legislation and provincial agricultural, forestry and fishery departments to instruct companies, wholesalers and consumers to follow safety standards when using pesticides and herbicides.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50500238/m ... erbicides/

Officials told to regulate import of agricultural chemicals
21 June 2018
Following a meeting with ministry officials, Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon has urged his subordinates to strengthen law enforcement and be on a lookout for unregulated fertiliser and pesticides being imported and circulated on the market.

Mr Sakhon said on Tuesday that in recent years the demand for fertilisers and pesticides has increased due to a boom in crops such as cassava, rubber, rice, corn, beans and cashews.

He said that in response to the increase in production, ministry officials have been working to develop new regulations to manage and control pesticides and the fertiliser business, while at the same time educating the public on the risks and benefits of utilising pesticides and fertiliser.

Mr Sakhon said that his ministry is still facing challenges in the implementation of safety standards.

“First, the import of illegal agricultural pesticide and fertiliser must be stopped so they are not circulated on the market,” he said, referring to products sold without quality assurance or labels. “Second, some fertilisers are well counterfeited with packaging and even an expiry date, while the training on the use, storage, safe-handling and awareness are still limited.”
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50503201/o ... chemicals/

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 9:38 am Officials told to regulate import of agricultural chemicals
21 June 2018
Following a meeting with ministry officials, Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon has urged his subordinates to strengthen law enforcement and be on a lookout for unregulated fertiliser and pesticides being imported and circulated on the market.

Mr Sakhon said on Tuesday that in recent years the demand for fertilisers and pesticides has increased due to a boom in crops such as cassava, rubber, rice, corn, beans and cashews.

He said that in response to the increase in production, ministry officials have been working to develop new regulations to manage and control pesticides and the fertiliser business, while at the same time educating the public on the risks and benefits of utilising pesticides and fertiliser.

Mr Sakhon said that his ministry is still facing challenges in the implementation of safety standards.

“First, the import of illegal agricultural pesticide and fertiliser must be stopped so they are not circulated on the market,” he said, referring to products sold without quality assurance or labels. “Second, some fertilisers are well counterfeited with packaging and even an expiry date, while the training on the use, storage, safe-handling and awareness are still limited.”
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50503201/o ... chemicals/

As usual, they seem to miss the point completely.... From what I see around my place growing cassava, rubber and cashew needs relatively few herbicides and pesticides.

Dangerous herbicides are going to be banned in neighboring countries. All good, but will this have a positive impact on Cambodia ? Or will the remainder of the products banned in Thailand and Vietnam end up being dumped in Cambodia ?
Cancer-causing herbicides banned in Vietnam
12 April 2019
Authorities to recall and destroy herbicides a year after ban takes effect, while Thailand says it will ban glyphosate, paraquat and chlorpyrifos in 2021.

Vietnamese authorities have banned herbicides containing glyphosate after it was discovered that the substance causes cancer.

On April 10, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam announced that its decision would take effect 60 days after senior officials sign off on the move, VN Express reported. Glyphosate-based herbicides will be banned from being produced or imported into Vietnam.

Hoang Trung, head of the Plant Protection Department, said products with glyphosate that are still in the market could still be allowed to be used or sold up to one year from the day the regulation takes effect. After that period, glyphosate-based substances will be collected and destroyed.

Glyphosate is one of the most used ingredients in herbicides and weed killers. More than 100 brands in Vietnam use the substance, and an estimated 5 million liters of glyphosate are still circulating in the market.

The decision to ban the substance was a ripple effect caused by a Federal Court decision in San Francisco in the US last month, which ruled that found Monsanto group’s weed killer Roundup causes cancer. The ruling was a unanimous jury verdict.

A study conducted by the University of Washington last month discovered that exposure to glyphosate raised the cancer risk of those being exposed to it by 41%. Other studies also found out that the substance has a substantial chance of causing lung, prostate and blood cancer as well.
https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/04/artic ... n-vietnam/

I doubt (very much) the import ban is going to happen.

One of the scariest things I see in Cambodia;
Those big blue barrels made of tough but quite permeable plastic, often used for collecting drinking water..
Stamped "DOW Thailand".
I hope they rinsed them well.

As of August, 2021...........

https://m.phnompenhpost.com/business/im ... 00k-tonnes

Imports of fertilisers, pesticides over 900K tonnes ...in 2021

• Cambodia imported 47,409 tonnes of pesticides and 858,632 tonnes of agricultural fertilisers in the first five months of 2021, a “sharp increase” year-on-year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported on August 9.
  
  Significant increases in agricultural productivity this year have sparked strong demand for these chemical substances, the ministry noted in a press release.
  
  And the local prices for these products have surged over the past year as Cambodian demand outpaces international supply, and major producers such as China, Malaysia and the UAE run out of the necessary raw materials, among a plethora of other reasons, it said.
  
  The fertiliser industries of countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam have also been forced to reduce the workforce amid Covid-19 outbreaks which have prompted restrictions that, amid other repercussions, lead to bottlenecks in transport and logistics, it added.
  
  And to make matters more complicated, other countries have ordered agricultural pesticides and fertilisers from Cambodia, further pushing demand beyond supply, it said, adding that this, coupled with costs of repackaging – requiring Khmer-language labels, and indirect purchases via brokers have inflated prices far exceeding direct-from-factory rates.
  
  “Domestic demand for agricultural fertilisers has increased significantly as more investors shift from other sectors to agriculture. Cambodia has not yet been able to produce agricultural fertilisers,” the ministry said.
  
  The Kingdom by and large produces only natural, organic fertilisers.
  
  Yun Sophat, CEO of local fertiliser company Huy Yun Agriculture Co Ltd, told The Post that there is high demand for his firm’s natural fertiliser, but noted that prices were not rising.
  
  “We’ve experienced competition with poor-quality imported fertilisers and had to sell at lower prices … our company is very attentive to quality for consumers.
  
  “The company focuses on providing free-of-charge technical training to growers, which is part of our strategy to prop up the livelihoods of Cambodian farmers,” he said.
  
  The Kingdom imported 103,005 tonnes of pesticides and 1,406,775 tonnes of agricultural fertilisers last year, the ministry reported.

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Looks like we are all being poisoned... still...

I've been reading Rachel Carson's classic work on chemical poisons used to control pests... Silent Spring... somebody should give a copy to the Ministry of Agriculture... download free here:

https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20151002

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Pesticides are always getting banned year after year and then there off the ban, but prices have gone up, but now farmers are rushing to buy at the inflated prices, to have a better produced crop. Once again, the ones who have control on imports are rolling in monies again.