The announcement was made in line with the Ministry of Industry's decision on May 15 to place paraquat and chlorpyrifos on the list of hazardous chemicals and ban their use in the kingdom, effective from June 1. According to the announcement, farmers in possession of paraquat and chlorpyrifos must return the chemicals to designated shops within 90 days, from June 1 until Aug 29. Meanwhile, the shops designated to collect the chemicals have been given 120 days to collect and fill a form of returned items, which should not be later than Sept 28. Meanwhile, Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN) coordinator Prokchon Usap said the department faces a challenging job creating a task force to create understanding with local farmers on how to deal with the two banned hazardous chemicals. "We won't regard this as a success but it is a step in the right direction for sustainable farming which relies less on chemicals.

Source: Bangkok Post May 28, 2020 21:45 UTC