Public security cracks down hard on paraquat and other severely restricted and banned pesticides

Lingnan Agricultural Economics

On the 27th, the Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture, the Shandong Provincial Public Security Department, the Shandong Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce and other three departments jointly issued a notice to carry out a "Large-scale, Fast, Strict" concentrated governance campaign targeting severely restricted and banned pesticides, with paraquat as the focus.

According to reports, during August and September this year, the Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture organized and carried out a major inspection and rectification campaign targeting severely restricted and banned pesticides, with paraquat as the focus,seizing and confiscating in accordance with the law 131.98 kg of paraquat aqueous solution produced before July 1, 2014,and 23.25 kg of asomate; through testing 205 samples submitted from various localities, 47 samples were found to contain illegally added paraquat ingredients, and the relevant cities were instructed to impose strict and heavy penalties.

The major inspection and rectification campaign achieved phased results, but in the subsequent continuous supervisory spot checks and market inspections, it was found that paraquat was still retained in small amounts in individual business operators' premises and farmers' homes, and continued to be illegally operated and used in the form of adding paraquat ingredients to registered products. The hidden dangers posed by paraquat and other severely restricted and banned pesticides to the safety of agricultural production, the quality and safety of agricultural products, the safety of the agricultural ecological environment and the safety of people's lives and health still exist.

The governance campaign will, in accordance with the requirements of laws and regulations, comprehensively sort out every link and every item of pesticide supervision and management, discover problems and rectify them promptly; take pesticide registration trials and all types of entities involved in pesticide production, operation and use as entry points, and urge them to fulfill their statutory responsibilities. Through carrying out the "Large-scale, Fast, Strict" concentrated governance campaign, conduct large-scale, full-coverage, dragnet-style screening of illegal production, operation and use of paraquat and other severely restricted and banned pesticides, quickly confiscate illegally retained pesticides, and severely crack down on all types of illegal and criminal acts.

The notice pointed out that the state's new requirements and new policies for pesticide development and the new pesticide supervision system should be widely publicized, jointly creating a strong atmosphere in which the whole society cares about, pays attention to and supports the healthy development of the pesticide industry. Make full use of carriers and channels such as WeChat pushes, radio and television, and agricultural information websites to promptly understand and grasp new trends in the pesticide field, new concerns of the whole society, and new demands of farmers. Where the competent pesticide authorities have not clearly designated a hotline for reporting pesticide supervision violations, they must establish and publish a reporting hotline as soon as possible, and quickly form an efficient supervision mechanism that organically combines social supervision with supervision by competent authorities.

At the same time, supervise and urge the implementation of all systems for pesticide production, operation and use. Pesticide producers, operators and users must strictly abide by the relevant legal provisions on paraquat and other severely restricted and banned pesticides. The source of production must be strictly controlled, screening whether enterprises illegally produce paraquat and other severely restricted and banned pesticides and whether they illegally add severely restricted and banned pesticides. The distribution link must be strictly investigated, screening whether pesticide operating units are still selling paraquat aqueous solution and other severely restricted and banned pesticides, whether they have implemented the real-name purchase system for highly toxic pesticides, and whether they have established a system of pesticide procurement and sales ledgers. The use threshold must be strictly managed, screening whether pesticide users use severely restricted and banned pesticides and whether they truthfully record pesticide use.

At the same time, for paraquat purchased before July 1, 2016 that has not been sold or not used up, county-level agricultural departments shall organize recovery at market price in a unified manner; those who voluntarily hand it in may be exempted from punishment, while other circumstances verified by relevant departments shall be given the maximum penalty in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations on Pesticide Administration.

In addition, illegally using severely restricted and banned pesticides in the fields of production, operation and use shall be dealt with as a priority. Agricultural departments at all levels will intensify sampling and testing of suspicious pesticides, keep supervision and reporting channels open, collect information on pesticide production, operation and use in an all-round way, strengthen coordination and cooperation with public security, industry and commerce administration and other departments, improve the working mechanism for linking administrative and criminal enforcement, resolutely severely punish in accordance with the law any acts verified as illegal, and transfer those that violate criminal law to judicial organs strictly and quickly.

The notice emphasized that the Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture will, together with relevant departments, track and supervise the progress of the "Large-scale, Fast, Strict" concentrated governance campaign in each city, conduct key spot checks on pesticide production enterprises and operating units, and achieve strict control at the source. Districts with cities and counties (cities, districts) where illegal production, operation or use of severely restricted and banned pesticides exists within their administrative areas shall be criticized in a notice, and the heads of the local competent departments shall be summoned for talks.