A recent finding that the banned pesticide Endosulfan continues to be in use in the paddy fields of Kedah has raised concerns about the government’s implementation of the ban and the consequent problems that the farmers and consumers face.

In November 2005, a ban on endosulfan was in place with a one year phase-out period. However, 48,500 farmers under the Muda Agriculture Development Agency (Mada) who are producing 50 percent of the Malaysia’s rice production, continue to be plagued with problems.

These include diminishing soil fertility, skin rashes, falling sick after applying the chemicals in the fields, etc. all which are attributed to the use of agro-chemicals. Endosulfan is being constantly sprayed to get rid of the golden apple snail ( siput gondang emas ).

‘Endosulfan is turning up as residue in our staple food is an endocrine disruptor, mimicking oestrogen at very low levels of exposure and is implicated in breast cancer.

‘It is also a neurotoxin and is linked to Parkinson’s disease, it causes birth defects, and it undermines the immune system,’ says Dr Meriel Watts of Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand.

She adds, ‘Many hundreds of people have been killed, particularly in Africa and India, by exposure to this highly toxic and destructive pesticide when used in agriculture’.

According to reports, agro-chemicals such as endosulfan are being smuggled into Malaysia from Thailand and are being distributed in ingenious ways.

Agriculture Department Deputy Director-General (Operations) Sulaiman Md Zain admits that the use of contraband agro- chemicals is a growing problem and that the authorities are doing all they can to curb smuggling and nab local culprits but to date, no offenders were jailed.

The department has also been providing substandard agro-chemical subsidies and experimenting with mechanical, biological and chemical control measures without consulting the needs of the farmers.

The existence of endosulfan in the country is alarming and it shows that the pesticide industry and their profit motives have tragically succeeded over the government’s ban as well as the safety of the consumers and the farmers.

Only when a genuine ban on Endosulfan and other agro-chemicals is in place – entailing anti- smuggling of agro-chemicals, information awareness on sustainable agriculture practices and consultation with farmers – can farmers and consumers be safe. We call for the enforcement of the ban and we have to remain vigilant.

Endosulfan belongs to the group of highly toxic chemicals called Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and has already been banned in 60 countries because of its high toxicity and environmental contamination.

However, its presence in Asia and the Pacific continues to acquire lives and damage natural resources. New Zealnd is the most recent, banning it in December 2008.

The writer is executive director, Pesticide Action Network, Asia and the Pacific .