Farm Chemicals

[honoluludave]

Everybody out there needs to be careful about being exposed to the different chemical used on farms. Do not know all the facts but this is what I do know. Two farmers have died this week. Both middle age and in good health. They had been working with a poison to kill snails. The one farmer had returned to his farm after 3days when he should have waited 2 weeks. The next day he woke up pissing blood. Went to the hospital and died 3 days later of massive kidney failure. The second farmer was exposed by a nieghbors farm. He also died 3 days later. Do not know what the poison is but it is having some nasty effects on humans. I for one am staying as far away from my wife's farm as possible

[GuestHouse]

I've posted before on the subject of food (chemical) safety in Thailand, what you tell us is tragic but not sadly not a surprise, anyone of the members here who have family (or extended family) who farm in Thailand will be aware that many Thai farmers grow two crops - One crop for sale which is treated with chemicals and second crop for home use which is not.

An observation made by an English friend of mine who farms in Nakhon Sawan province is 'His Thai neighbors follow the maxim that if 1ltr per Rai of a chemical can increase yields by 10% then let's get 20% increase by using 2ltrs per Rai'.

There are a couple of other problems too. Educational levels and education in the use of chemicals in farming is such that incorrect use is almost guaranteed (for example complying with minimum time between application of chemicals and cropping) and there is also a thriving trade in illegal chemicals and 'fake' chemicals. Remembering here that some of the most very effective chemicals are banned in Thailand and elsewhere.

A compounding factor is that the medical examiners who investigate and report on environmental health issues are subservient to the Ministries of Industry and Agriculture. A move made by the Thai government in the early 90s to silence growing reports of industrial health concerns.

A personal observation on this issue was my wife a friend and I once stopped for a snack and a drink in a local cafe, our friend ordered a fresh orange drink. Our drink arrived first and before our food arrived our friend had collapsed with Anaphylactic Shock, we got her to the hospital in under fifteen minutes and by which time she was in a critical condition and almost died. The doctor's opinion was that she'd had a reaction to chemicals in/on the oranges that her drink was made of.

If was a frightening experience, terrifying for our friend, and one that opened my eyes to the whole issue of food safety in Thailand.

[Farma]

honoluludave

Do you know the name of the chemical used?

A couple of weeks ago in our area 1 man died and 2 were in intensive care from what they thought was murder/attempted murder by poisoning. These were 3 separate incidents.

The symptoms occurred about 15 minutes after eating with blood coming from nose, mouth, vomiting and diarrhea etc.

[Maizefarmer]

Pesticide and herbicide "abuse" - deliberate and accidental is a huge problem in Thailand.

It is also one of the most common forms of suicide in rural Thailand.

What makes the problem even worse is that a lot of ag chemicals - especialy in rural areas - are counterfeited brandname chemicals - so even if applied in accordance with how the genuine product is applied there is often no garuntee that the correct concentration/amount is being used - putting not only the farmer at risk, but the public who subsequently purchase the fresh produce from open markets.

While Thailand has the monitoring infrastructure to control ag chemicals at the wholesale and manufacturing level (meaning: genuine, not counterfeit manufacturers), it lacks control at the rural retail and rural usage level - not enough insepctors and not enough education programs for rural folk.