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QUEZON CITY | February 10, 2022 – Representatives from the FPA participated in the Local Practitioners’ Round Table Discussion on the Agrobiodiversity Component of the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP) organized by the Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP) held on January 26-27, 2023 at Cocoon Boutique Hotel, Quezon City..

The team was composed of Maribel M. Querijero, Supervising Agriculturist; Mirasol O. Bacarisas, Officer in Charge – PMID; and, Mike P. Cuento, Agriculturist II. They provided inputs on the trends, concerns, and management of agricultural pesticides in the Asia Pacific, which served as one of the topics during the first day of the event.

Ms. Quijano reported that there are more than 500 unregistered pesticides present in the market globally without bioefficacy trials or testing, causing human illnesses such as autism and ADHD in children, and cancer.

Moreover, Ms. Querijero shared FPA’s mandate to ensure product efficacy and minimize the risk inherent in the use of pesticides to protect human health and the environment.

“As one of the food safety regulatory agencies of the Department of Agriculture (DA), we work for the farmers. For instance, we educate them about maximum residue levels (MRLs), post-harvest interval (PHI), and toxicity, among others, for them to make their crop produce safe for consumption,” Querijero added.

She enlightened the group that the active list of thirty (30) banned and nineteen (19) restricted pesticides as well as registered pesticides in the country can be found on the FPA website.

Likewise, she explained that FPA focuses on the regulation of agricultural pesticides while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in charge of regulating household pesticides. ###

MAHAYAG, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR | February 9, 2023 – The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) Region IX joined the medical students of Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU) in their two-day community immersion program and discussed the importance of safe and judicious use of agricultural inputs to 90 farmers in Mahayag, Zamboanga del Sur on February 7-8, 2023.

Regional Officer (RO) Alex Paalisbo and Provincial Officer (PO) Michael Tuico explained the occupational safety procedures in agriculture, emphasizing the basic information about pesticides and how to understand the pesticide labels to achieve the efficient use of farm inputs.

The team also discussed the proper handling of pesticides during transport, storage, disposal, and decontamination of empty pesticide containers and the importance of wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Further, the farmers were also trained in administering first aid in case of pesticide poisoning in their workplace.

The immersion program reached out to 90 farmers from Brgy. Sicpao and San Isidro in said community.

ILOILO | February 8, 2022 – Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) Region VI inspected six (6) dealers during its regular monitoring in Iloilo last February 3 and 7, 2023.

Regional Officer (RO) Noel Negre and Provincial Officer (PO) Raymund Alfor conducted random weighing in these establishments to check the quality of the 50-kg fertilizer bags. It was found that all dealers are compliant with the FPA standards.

Further, to maintain the quality of the fertilizers and pesticides sold in the market, the team educated the dealers on the importance of ‘First In, First Out’ rule and proper shelving of pesticide products.

The ‘First In, First Out’ rule means the dealers should arrange the products according to the dates on the label and put the older products in front or on top so they will be purchased first.

RO Negre also encouraged licensed dealers to check the authenticity of the products sold in their respective stores. “Dealers are the front liners in helping local farmers purchase up-to-standard products. Therefore, they should always be aware of the legitimacy of the distributors, product expiration, and the authenticity of product labels. They can constantly check these information through our website,” RO Negre said.

In addition, RFU VI maintained its communication with other dealers by sending memorandums and letters should any announcements come from the agency. ###