A study prepared by the pesticides' committee of the Agriculture Ministry proved that 95.4 percent of pesticides are spoiled because merchants dilute them, unaware of the negative impact this may have on people's health, as well as the environment.
According to the study, 97 percent of farmers have called for tougher legal sanctions when dealing with fraud and smuggling.
The study said 90.4 percent of farmers find the prices for pesticides too high and request the government intervene or encourage more investment in local pesticides.
It also said that 35 percent of the shops that sell pesticides are unlicensed and 82 percent of the shops do not give a sales invoice. Farmers are asking that the government addresses these issues.
The study also showed that 80 percent of farmers check the expiry date on pesticides, but are less interested in knowing the registration number or brand name of the product. Additionally, most shops do not give the farmers the product's certificate of analysis.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
