Good control of agricultural materials market

Many agricultural material trading establishments do not ensure regulations on origin, causing difficulties in inspection and traceability and posing potential risks to agricultural production.

The province currently has over 4,500 agricultural material trading establishments, mainly located in localities with large production areas such as Yen Dinh, Tho Xuan, Hoang Hoa, Trieu Son, Quang Xuong, etc. The types of materials for sale are quite diverse, including fertilizers, pesticides, plant varieties, animal feed, and veterinary medicines. However, according to the records of the functional sector, the situation of trading in poor quality goods, counterfeit goods, and goods of unknown origin still occurs, especially in remote areas. Some business households have not fully implemented regulations on business conditions, product preservation, or sold goods without prescription, without providing thorough advice to users. This has led to many farmers, due to lack of information or being lured by cheap prices, using poor quality pesticides and fertilizers, causing damage to crops and livestock and increasing risks in production.

In 2024, the provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection conducted more than 1,200 inspections of pesticide trading establishments. Thereby, 135 establishments were found to be in violation, mainly due to trading in drugs outside the permitted list, expired goods, and incorrect labeling. A similar situation also occurred in the livestock sector, when many establishments trading in animal feed and veterinary drugs did not ensure proper circulation and storage conditions. According to initial records of the functional sector, in the first 4 months of 2025, many agricultural material trading establishments still violated regulations on storage conditions, product origin and labeling of goods, causing many difficulties in control work. Meanwhile, the provincial market management force also discovered and handled a number of cases of trading in agricultural materials without invoices and documents, of unknown origin, potentially affecting the interests of consumers.

Faced with the above situation, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province has directed the Department of Agriculture and Environment to coordinate with the Department of Industry and Trade and localities to step up inter-sectoral inspection and examination, especially in the main production seasons. The goal is to strictly handle violations of the law, promptly prevent poor quality supplies, and protect the legitimate interests of farmers. Along with strengthening inspections, raising awareness among people has also been promoted through training courses and seminars at the grassroots level. Many models of "Safe Agricultural Materials Stores" have been built and initially shown to be effective, such as the models in Hoang Xuan commune (Hoang Hoa), Xuan Thang commune (Tho Xuan)... These stores are committed to providing goods of guaranteed quality, with clear origins, while providing technical support and instructions on safe use for farmers.

In addition, some localities such as Yen Dinh, Quang Xuong, and Thach Thanh have implemented the cooperative model as the focal point for supplying agricultural inputs to members. This approach helps reduce the situation where people have to buy retail at the market, making it difficult to control quality. Coordination between specialized sectors and market management forces has been strengthened to inspect and control the quality of materials, while encouraging the development of reliable distribution channels from cooperatives to people, contributing to improving the efficiency of agricultural production input management.

Good control of the agricultural material market not only protects the legitimate rights of hundreds of thousands of farming households in the province but also contributes significantly to improving the quality of agricultural products, promoting clean production and creating a foundation for Thanh Hoa's agricultural sector to develop sustainably. With the drastic and synchronous participation of functional agencies and changes in awareness from the producers themselves, the province's agricultural material market is expected to become increasingly transparent and stable, creating favorable conditions for agricultural production to develop effectively, safely and sustainably.

Article and photos: Chi Pham

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/kiem-soat-tot-thi-truong-vat-tu-nong-nghiep-249710.htm