Week 642

Cambodia Spends About US$20 Million Each Year on Pesticides – Saturday, 12.12.2009

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 642

“Phnom Penh: A secretary of state of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Mr. Om Kimsea, said recently that according to a study, each year about 3,200,000 liters of pesticides are used, corresponding to about US$20 million, and 57% of those pesticides are applied to vegetables.

“Mr. Om Kimsea added that in agriculture, chemicals like anorganic fertilizer and agricultural pesticides are one of the most well known means farmers use due to their effectiveness. However, if those chemicals do not conform to proper technical standards [or if they are not used properly!!!], they might be hazardous to human health, to animals, and to the environment.

“Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries is trying to find all necessary measures to deal with this complex problem.

“Mr. Om Kimsea went on to say that the Ministry has created a mixed program for crop management for training farmers in the skills to manage crops to grow well and to provide high yields by considering the sustainability of the production, its economic efficiency, and the protection of the citizens’ wellbeing and of the environment, aiming to guarantee food security and food safety. He continued to say that this program focuses on reducing the use of chemicals, especially of agricultural pesticides in agriculture, in order to boost sustainable agricultural practices. Besides, the Ministry cooperates with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Industry, and other relevant institutions regarding agricultural pesticides, their security, and the wellbeing of the citizens. He added that the Ministry works also with non-government organizations, national and international, to encourage the implementation of work related to this sector, to function efficiently and to improve gradually.

“He said that in the meantime, the Ministry is carefully checking international laws, such as the codes of procedures about the distribution and use of agricultural pesticides, like the Rotterdam Convention about chemicals and agricultural pesticides in international trade, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and the World Trade Organization Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, in order to regularize and to expand the checking on trade and the use of agricultural pesticides in Cambodia.” Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2122, 12.12.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Saturday, 12 December 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #360, 12.12.2009

  • Siam [Thailand] Sent 24 Khmers from Kampuchea Krom to Cambodia [through the Poipet border crossing], and They Ask the Head of the Government for Asylum
  • A Greek Man Was Sentenced to Serve 5 Years in Prison for Debauchery with a Child [Phnom Penh]
  • [Thai ousted fugitive former prime minister] Thaksin Shinawatra: I Want to Return to the Country to Serve the People, but I Do Not Want to Be Prime Minister [he stated, via live television, to his supporters, red-shirt demonstrators]
  • In America 10,000 People Died of A/H1N1 [and there are worldwide (?) more than 50 million cases of people infected with A/H1N1]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2122, 12.12.2009

  • Cambodia Spends About US$20 Million Each Year on Pesticides
  • The Anti-Corruption Draft Law Has Already Passed the Cabinet in the Morning of 11 December 2009 [the draft has been discussed and approved during a cabinet meeting and will be sent to the National Assembly]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #553, 12.12.2009

  • A Khmer Court Sentenced a Siamese [Thai] Spy to Seven Years in Prison, but Will Release Him in Less Than Seven Days
  • Khmer Kampuchea Krom Citizens Celebrated the 61st International Human Rights Day in Phnom Penh [mentioning difficulties as well as the desperate need for human rights respect for Khmer Kampuchea Krom people who are at home in Vietnam]

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6829, 12-13.12.2009

  • The Cambodian King Pardoned a Thai Convict; the Puea Thai Party Demands [Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs] Kasit Piromya and First Secretary of the Thai Embassy [in Cambodia] to Resign
  • Japan Granted US$170,880 to Three Provincial Departments of Education, Youth, and Sports

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5071, 12.12.2009

  • The Cambodian King Granted a Pardon for a Thai [alleged spy] Engineer; on Monday, He Will Be Released
  • Seeking Snails at a Ditch, Two Sisters [9 and 10 years old] Drowned [Kompong Thom]
  • A Taiwanese Boyfriend and Girlfriend Were Detained for Bringing Heroin for Their Friends in the Prey Sar Prison [Phnom Penh]

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