Tighten management of fertilizer 'matrix'

Market Management Team No. 5 inspected the Chin Chau Fertilizer and Pesticide Trading Facility (Tan Thanh District).

Fake or poor quality fertilizers cause damage to agricultural production and cause frustration for farmers. This is clearly shown when in most meetings with voters, people reflect on the situation of poor quality fertilizers and pesticides affecting agricultural production; at the same time, recommend that functional agencies take appropriate measures and increase the level of penalties to be sufficient to deter violators.

In fact, in recent years, in the "forest" of old and new agricultural chemicals, it is very difficult for farmers to distinguish between real and fake fertilizers. Some people rely mainly on their own experience, while others rely on the reputation of long-term agents, especially farmers who buy agricultural materials on credit and pay later in the season.

Mr. Tran Van Hien (Nhi Thanh commune, Thu Thua district) said: “There are many types of fertilizers and pesticides on the market today, I don’t know which ones are real and which ones are fake. Usually, I use whatever fertilizer or pesticide the dealer gives me.”

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture, it is very difficult to identify fake and poor quality fertilizers through packaging or product shape and color, because currently, the quantity of finished fertilizers circulating on the market is very large and has many different forms, colors and formulas.

Faced with a “matrix” of agricultural materials available on the market, farmers find it difficult to distinguish between real and fake fertilizers. Therefore, farmers can only rely on the authorities.

According to information from the Provincial Market Management Department, in 2023, the Department inspected 170 cases, of which 135 fertilizer samples were taken for quality testing. As a result, the Provincial Market Management Department discovered 54 violations such as 3 cases of fake fertilizers; 18 cases of poor quality fertilizers; 33 cases of violations of labels, conditions, and price listing. The total amount of administrative fines for violations is nearly 3 billion VND.

Market Management Team No. 5 inspected the Chin Chau Fertilizer and Pesticide Trading Facility (Tan Thanh District).

The main violations detected through inspection are: Trading in goods that do not comply with the corresponding technical regulations; manufacturing counterfeit goods in terms of use value and function; violating product labels; not posting product prices; manufacturing fertilizers without a decision recognizing fertilizers for circulation in Vietnam; displaying for sale fertilizers that infringe on trademark rights; not fully displaying on the signboard the name of the direct management agency; the name of the production and business establishment in accordance with the business registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate; address, telephone number; not registering to establish a business household in cases where registration is required according to regulations; trading in fertilizers without a certificate of eligibility to trade in fertilizers.

Regarding pesticides, in 2023, the Department inspected and detected 23 violations, with a total fine of nearly 690 million VND. The main violations were trading pesticides when the certificate of eligibility to trade in pesticides had expired; no business registration certificate; no certificate of eligibility to trade in pesticides; violations of product labels, and failure to list product prices.

Deputy Captain in charge of Market Management Team No. 5, Provincial Market Management Department - Nguyen Vinh Sang said: The work of inspecting and handling violations in the production and trading of fake and poor quality fertilizers and pesticides still faces many difficulties. Some establishments producing and trading fake and poor quality fertilizers and pesticides resist inspection by functional forces by moving their production facilities to remote, sparsely populated areas. After production is completed, they bring them to the market to sell en masse at a certain time and then erase all traces of that production facility.

In addition to the involvement of all levels and sectors, people need to raise their awareness and understanding in choosing agricultural materials. Farmers should not be greedy for cheap prices; should not buy fertilizers that are lumpy, solid or runny because their quality has changed; should choose to buy agricultural materials from large, reputable enterprises in production and business./.

Wisdom

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