Thailand eyes green agriculture

The Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand is preparing to move 13 herbs and spices local farmers use as green pesticides into a lower toxicity classification in a bid to promote green agriculture.

The Department of Agriculture wants the Hazardous Substances Control Bureau to put the 13 herbs in the Type 1 tier, the Bangkok Post newspaper quoted Deputy Minister of Agriculture Mananya Thaiset as saying on July 13.

These 13 herbs were moved to the more tightly controlled Type 2 level in 2013 from their original classification as Type 1 in 2009. Before that, local farmers had used these herbs freely as natural weed and pest control.

These 13 herbs are neem, tea/tea seed cake, galangal, ginger, turmeric, citronella grass, Siam weed, marigold, chilli, celery, ringworm bush, flame lily and Stemona collinsiae.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Manaya said the change is aimed at making natural insecticides more convenient to use.
 

Farmers can benefit from the change as they can now extract the chemicals they need from the plants to make natural insecticides and herbicides freely and do not have to ask for permission first/.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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