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If open use of glufosinate is allowed for red beans, will consumers still dare to buy? Wandan Farmers' Association urges the government to think it through

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Herbicide spraying on red beans 03"Wandan Farmers' Association: The government must think it through. If glufosinate is opened up, will consumers no longer dare to buy red beans?

Text by Upstream and Downstream reporters Li Huiyi and Lin Yijun

In recent years, the government has strongly promoted friendly inputs to replace herbicides as red bean defoliants. However, less than four months after the full ban on the herbicide paraquat, the government opened up the herbicide glufosinate for use as a red bean defoliant, triggering outside criticism that "pesticide policy is going backward" and will create environmental and food safety risks. In response to outside doubts, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine stated in a press release: "Opening up glufosinate reflects farmers' field needs," but at the same time emphasized that "in actual field practice, farmers will use unregistered-friendly inputs such as nonanoic acid to replace pesticide use." The statements are contradictory.

After glufosinate is opened up, what kind of "actual field practice" will appear? Upstream and Downstream reporters visited pesticide stores in production areas, and those in charge said unanimously that as soon as glufosinate is opened up, farmers will no longer use nonanoic acid and sodium chlorate. "At most, farmers will barely use up the extra nonanoic acid they bought, or mix nonanoic acid with glufosinate, and after that they will not use it again."

Zhang Zhilie, chief executive of the Wandan Township Farmers' Association in Pingtung County, the largest red bean production area, said that red beans are farmers' lifeblood, and bean farmers absolutely do not want the red bean industry to collapse. The government must think it through. Opening up glufosinate may make farming more convenient for farmers, but will it affect downstream marketing? Will it cause consumers to no longer dare to buy domestic red beans?

Wandan Caifeng Club, which uses Wandan red beans to make red bean cakes (photo by Lin Yijun)

Farmers: Opening up glufosinate highlights the mistake of banning paraquat

Whether in Wandan, Pingtung, or the agricultural settlements of nearby townships, aside from small pharmacies, hair salons, vegetable stalls, convenience stores, and betel nut stands, the most commonly seen shops on the streets are pesticide stores. Upon entering, one is greeted by various brands of glufosinate lined up in rows. Mrs. Li, the owner of a pesticide store that has been open for ten years, said, "After the government banned paraquat at the beginning of this year, glufosinate became one of farmers' favorite herbicides and also the first choice for red bean defoliant."

Mrs. Xu, the owner of another pesticide store that has been in business for eighteen years, said that in order to ban paraquat, the government began promoting nonanoic acid the year before last, but its drying effect was poor. The leaves dried but the stems did not, so farmers had no choice but to go back to paraquat. By the time red beans were harvested early this year, many farmers no longer had paraquat on hand and switched to glufosinate again.

Mr. Xie, a farmer living in Dahu Community in Pingtung City, said, "Many farmers here mix glufosinate with sodium chlorate." Li Jinchuan, founding class leader of the first class of the Wandan Red Bean Production and Marketing Group in Pingtung, said, "This policy change is wrong. If it is to be changed, it should be changed back to paraquat." He further said that the government's opening up of glufosinate highlights the mistake of the policy banning paraquat. Even if the government wants to respond to farmers by opening up herbicides, it should reopen paraquat, which is cheap, fast-acting, decomposes quickly, and has relatively little environmental impact.

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