FARMERS may face criminal charges for using internationally banned pesticides, which can prove fatal. In an attempt to grow more crops more quickly, the farmers have been accused of ignoring warnings from international health agencies by overusing these lethal pesticides. Agronomists and their assistants are also said to be to blame for allegedly refusing to regularly inspect local farms. According to official estimates, the Ministry of Agriculture has an army of 30,000 agricultural engineers, also known as morshedeen zeraieen (agricultural instructors and supervisors). These engineers should be present when the farmers are spraying their fields with pesticides. The morshedeen zeraieen are also empowered to inspect ��" and approve or disapprove ��" the pesticides they use. Physicians struggling desperately against the ever-increasing number of Egyptians suffering from cancer say that a lot of people suffering from kidney or liver diseases may have ingested harmful pesticides. One agricultural official says that contaminated fruit and vegetables hit the domestic market straight from the fields, before the harmful effect of the pesticides has time to wear off. Appealing to agricultural inspectors to commit themselves to their vital task, the expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “In the absence of official supervisors and inspectors, growers ignore the safety regulations, according to which crops should be sent to market only after a specified number of days and sometimes weeks have elapsed, during which the poisonous substances lose their deadly threat.” Ministry of Agriculture officials stress that pesticides used in Egypt are 'safe and internationally approved'. They could not explain why farmers have been accused of using cheap pesticides manufactured in unlicenced factories at home or smuggled here from Asian countries. The local press recently disclosed that the police annually seize tens of tonnes of illegally manufactured pesticides on their way to fields in the Delta and in Upper Egypt. Reports say that the banned substances are packed in bags, stamped with the names of internationally approved brands.
