Govt tightens screws on importation of agro-chemicals

Edgar Vhera

Agriculture Specialist Writer

THE Fertilisers, Farm Feeds and Remedies Institute (FFRI) will soon be issuing inspectors at the country’s ports of entry with transit permits to enable them to monitor all trucks in transit so that they may not dump their products under Statutory Instrument (SI) 167 that bans imports of unregistered or fake agro-chemicals into the country.

Department of Research and Specialist Services chief director Dr Dumisani Kutywayo yesterday revealed that banned products such as paraquat, aldicarb and monocrotophos were being smuggled through porous entry points.

“Government is trying so hard to tighten these loop holes through deploying inspectors to man the entry points with the help of Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA). Awareness campaigns are also being conducted nationwide on agriculture shows, field days and various farmer field schools (FFS). According to Statutory instrument (SI) 144 of 2012 no agro-dealer is allowed to import or sell unregistered products. All products should be labelled according to the regulatory standards of Zimbabwe,” said Dr Kutywayo.

The decision comes in the wake of revelations by some stakeholders that some farmers were using banned chemicals in their crop production processes.

He added that his department would also conduct spot checks of agro-dealers’ shops and retail outlets to enforce compliance to regulations of trading in agro-chemicals in line with SI 167 that empowered them to effectively enforce the legislation.

“As we move into the rain season, FFRI is working flat out to reduce fake products on the market. The country has a list of chemicals that have been banned for use such as paraquat, aldicarb, monocrotophos and alachlor, however these are being smuggled into the country from neighbouring countries.

“Our survey has shown that most of the unregistered products are not locally produced. Zimbabwean companies are complying and registering their products,” added Dr Kutywayo.

The common trade names for some of the banned chemicals are Alachlor, Alanex, Lasso, Termik, Aldicarb, Gusathion, Morocide, Captafol, Kenofol 80WP, Furadan 10 G, Carbofuran 10 G, Pilarfuran 10 GR, EDB, Endosulfan, Thionex, Methamidophos,Tamaron, Methyl Bromide, Paraquat and Monocrotophos, Monocron, Snocron.

Traders caught dealing in these products are normally fined under the fine levels as stated in SI 14A of 2023. Fines are expressed in United States dollars, but payable in the equivalent Zimbabwe dollars at the prevailing interbank rate. Level 6 offences attracts a fine of US$300 up from US$100.

Meanwhile, Dr Kutwyayo also explained that round up/glyphosate, which some farmers thought was banned in Zimbabwe, was still being registered and imported by agro-dealers. He said the controversial debate on its ban was still under evaluation.

Government and some stakeholders in the agriculture sector have since embarked on nationwide awareness campaigns on highly hazardous pesticides (HHP) with the objective of educating users on the HHP survey’s key findings, as well as coming up with a mitigation strategy.

The survey to identify the HHP being used by farmers and sold by retailers was conducted in 2022 in five provinces.