Number of pesticides on UAE watchlist doubles

Dubai:  The number of pesticides being monitored by the Ministry of Environment and Water has more than doubled from 92 to 190 as it strives to protect public health and ensure quality of fresh farm produce.

Organic farming and hydroponics, a technique that employs minerally-enriched water instead of soil, is also being encouraged, rather than the spraying of chemicals to keep burrowing pests from damaging produce.

Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, said he is keen to tighten the control of pesticides and streamline the flow of imported fruits and vegetables to ensure they are absolutely safe for human consumption.

In 2008, the ministry had analysed only 92 pesticides but checks towards the end of last month saw that number go up to 190. More tests on different varieties of vegetables and fruits are ongoing as part of a strict screening process.

During a meeting with representatives of wholesale fruit and vegetable importers, Bin Fahd said "the safety of consumers is a prerequisite".

Earlier this year, stocks of 167 banned pesticides known to be in used in the country were ordered destroyed by the ministry in view of the cancer risk they posed or their high toxicity.

In July this year, the ministry had confiscated illegal pesticides from agricultural companies in Sharjah during surprise inspection visits.

Legal action will be carried out against companies importing pesticides that do not comply with regulations set by Federal Law No 41 of 1992 and ministerial resolution No 409 of 2009 for GCC countries.

Higher annual average

A study called ‘Management of pesticides' carried out in 2000 by the UAE University in Al Ain found that a total 835 pesticides were registered in the UAE with insecticide products representing 50 per cent of that number.

The study found that the average amount of pesticides used in the UAE is about 10kg per hectare per year — a substantially higher amount compared with India, the USA or Europe, but similar to quantities sprayed in Japan.

"The number of pesticide poisoning [cases] as reported by two main hospitals in Al Ain in 1999 reached 246 cases of adult and 298 cases of children. None of these pesticide exposures was fatal and less than 10 per cent needed hospitalisation," the report stated.

It was also found that three out of 11 pesticides widely used in the UAE have the potential to leach to groundwater due to their solubility, which exceeds the US Environment Protection Authority (EPA) threshold values.

The decade-long study, however, takes note that pesticides are among the most regulated chemical compounds in the UAE.