Health Ministry to educate farmers on use of pesticides

Star: PENANG: The Ministry of Health wants farmers to exercise caution in their use of pesticides to ensure that locally-produced vegetables are safe for consumption.
Its parliamentary secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon said besides taking action against errant farmers, the ministry would educate them on the issue.
“The problem will not be solved until the farmers understand the negative consequences and economic impact caused by the misuse of pesticides,” he said.
Lee said this a press conference yesterday after closing the Program Rakan Muda Wawasan Desa IPT.
He believed that even errant farmers would stop producing “toxic vegetables” if they understood the pros and cons.
Lee was commenting on a recent media report that pesticide-tainted vegetables were sent to markets.
He added that vegetables in Malaysia were safe for consumption as random checks by the ministry had shown that only a small percentage of local vegetables were tainted with pesticide.
“Our vegetables are still very safe to eat.
“We will constantly monitor the situation,” he said.
He also urged non-governmental organisations to help authorities monitor the situation and inform the ministry if they were aware of farmers using excessive pesticide.