Use Less Chemicals, Farmers Told

Farmers were yesterday encouraged to use biocontrol agents on their crops to boost output in a bid to eliminate using chemical pesticides in agricultural production. During a forum on the use of biocontrol agents yesterday, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture Hean Vanhan said that using biocontrol agents helps farmers to stop using chemical pesticides and can increase the efficiency of agricultural production.
 

Biocontrol agents are living organisms – such as insects, pathogens and grazing animals – used to depress the population of a pest, such as insects, mites, weeds and plant diseases, which can interfere with or reduce agricultural output. The call to use biocontrol agents was made amid increasing imports of chemical and organic pesticides for agriculture due to rising demands in the agriculture sector, particularly in rice farming.
 

“The use of biocontrol agents is different from chemical pesticides,” Mr. Vanhan said. “The biocontrol agents will fertilize agricultural soil and protect agricultural plants.” Mr. Vanhan called on farmers and fertilizer manufacturers to use and produce organic pesticides for agriculture, as the country’s demand for organic agricultural products is increasing. Claudius Bredehoft, national project coordinator for German development agency GIZ, said the use of biocontrol agents would push Cambodia to meet the demands for organic agricultural products.

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