A regional seminar on managing the use of pesticides has started in Baku

A regional seminar on "Pesticide life cycle management" was launched today in Baku with the organization of the Food Safety Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The event held within the framework of "Management of pesticide circulation in Central Asian countries and Turkey and the project of neutralization of pesticides related to persistent organic pollutants" covers the dates of September 18-20. Specialists representing Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, members of the project, and FAO employees participated in the seminar.

Speaking at the opening of the event, the Chairman of the Food Safety Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Goshgar Tahmezli, said that in our country, significant results have been achieved regarding the improvement of the legal framework in the field of plant health, which is one of the main elements of the food chain, as well as the development of the control system for the circulation of plant health and plant protection products and agrochemicals. In this direction, a laboratory infrastructure meeting modern requirements was created, staff and scientific potential were strengthened, international cooperation relations were expanded, the information system was modernized and other important measures were implemented. G. Tahmezli added that in the field of ensuring plant health in the country, the large-scale and valuable work carried out by such international organizations as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Convention on Plant Protection and the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization and others, including The work done so far within the framework of the regional project on the neutralization of pesticides related to persistent organic pollutants is quite significant. Stating that this important issue is always at the center of attention of the Government of Azerbaijan, the Chairman of the Agency, at the first meeting of the Commission established by the relevant Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, analyzed the results of the monitoring conducted in the areas contaminated with pesticides and in the warehouses where they are stored and summarized and eliminated the problems, as well as conducting monitoring in the field of pesticide circulation, analyzing the current situation and in this direction, working groups were created for the purpose of preparing proposals for necessary measures to ensure security. It was noted that during the meetings held with the participation of group members, preliminary proposals were prepared and presented to the Government by the Food Safety Agency in the direction of solving the problems existing in the country related to unusable pesticides.

G. Tahmezli said that business entities operating in this field also have a great responsibility. Thus, as part of the inspection and control measures carried out by the Food Safety Agency, in warehouses and sales facilities where pesticides are stored, as well as in agricultural farms where they are applied, insufficient state registration, expiration date has expired, and as a result of laboratory tests conducted, fake products whose quality parameters do not correspond to normative indicators drugs were detected. In addition, during the year, tons of expired and unusable pesticides were taken out of circulation with the relevant opinion of the Agency's Inventory Commission and transported to the Cengi pesticide landfill to ensure their safety. Therefore, according to the relevant legislation, business entities must guarantee and be responsible for the quality indicators and safety of the pesticides, biological preparations and other plant protection products they produce and import.

It was stated that at present, the expansion of the application of integrated plant control methods and the minimization of the use of toxic chemicals due to the promotion of biological control are among the priority directions. At the end of his speech, Q. Tahmezli emphasized the direct dependence between human, animal and environmental health in the countries of the region and highlighted the relevance of the "Unit Health" concept.

Muhammad Nasar Hayat, representative of FAO in Azerbaijan, emphasized in his speech at the event that the regional seminar is a great platform for discussing important issues. FAO and other international organizations, together with relevant institutions in the field of plant health, support a number of projects in Central Asian countries and Turkey in the field of pesticide circulation management and pesticide neutralization related to persistent organic pollutants.

On the first and second days of the seminar, it is planned to make presentations by specialists on the topics "Understanding the current situation: pesticide life cycle management in Central Asian countries" and "Towards sustainable solutions: a road map for improving pesticide life cycle management". On the last day of the event, a National Seminar on "Improving the management of unusable, obsolete pesticides in Azerbaijan" will be organized with the participation of authorized persons from state institutions involved in the life cycle of pesticides in Azerbaijan and international experts of FAO specialized in this field.

It should be noted that after the seminar, as a continuation of the event, on September 21 and 22, it is planned to hold meetings with experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey in the administrative building of the Agency. In the meetings, it is planned to get acquainted with the mechanism of control over the registration and circulation of plant protection products in Azerbaijan based on the experience of Turkey and to make proposals for improving the process.