The refusal to ban two highly toxic farm chemicals by the Department of Agriculture (DOA) is not only scandalous, it makes the agency complicit in a crime against public health and the environment.
The Department of Agriculture has the authority to screen and allow what hazardous farm chemicals can be used in Thailand. Yet when it comes to issuing the ban, the DOA says it cannot do so because it does not have the necessary expertise in public health to determine the hazards.
This is a lame excuse. Taxpayers should think seriously about whether we should pay their bills or continue to let this socially and environmentally deaf agency be in charge of toxic farm chemicals at all.
Sanitsuda Ekachai is former editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.
The hazardous farm chemicals in question are paraquat, a chemical herbicide, and chlorpyrifos, a chemical pesticide. It's widely know these farm chemicals harm people's health, animals' lives, contaminate the soil and waterways, and leave toxic residue in the food chain, resulting in rising health problems.
The ban order came from the Steering Committee on the Problems from Hazardous Farm Chemicals comprising high-level authorities from the Public Health Ministry, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, the Industry Ministry, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Under the order, all imports of these two hazardous farm chemicals must stop by December 2018. All uses of the paraquat herbicide and chlorpyrifos insecticides -- be it in farms, health facilities, or households -- must stop by December 2019. The committee also prohibits the renewal of their permits.
In addition, the committee orders strict control of glyphosate, a hazardous weed killer better known under its trade name Roundup, now barred from being used in the highlands, near water sources or residential areas.
The ban order came in April. Early this month, the Department of Agriculture accepted the restricted order for Roundup but openly challenged the ban order for paraquat and chlorpyrifos, citing a lack of expertise in public health matters and conflicting information about their risks.
While refusing to respect expert input from the Public Health Ministry, the DOA director-general Suwit Chaikiattiyos strongly defends paraquat and chlorpyrifos, insisting their toxicity only ranges from mild to moderate.
Bypassing the ban order by the national committee chaired by the Public Health Minister, Mr Suwit said he would only comply with the final decision made by the Hazardous Substances Committee chaired by the Industry Ministry.
Is this just petty inter-agency rivalry or is it pure and simple policy bias in favour of the agrochemical industry?
If you are mad with the DOA for ignoring public health and environmental concerns, you are not alone.
There is abundant research, here and abroad, on the health and environmental hazards from these two farm chemicals. Ignoring the illnesses and the long-term contamination of the soil, waterways and food chains borders on a crime against nature and people's health.
Paraquat, better known under its trade name Gramoxone, has been banned in more than 40 countries. Why is it so if not for the proven danger to people's health and the environment?
Studies here also confirm international findings about a worryingly high number of deaths from acute paraquat poisoning as well as the links between the use of this chemical and the development of Parkinson's disease. A local study in Nan province shows nearly all surface and underground water is contaminated by the herbicide, which affects the nervous system. All bottled water in Nan that is made from groundwater is contaminated. And this is just one province, let alone the others.
Paraquat residue also finds its way into the umbilical cord, affecting up to 20% of mothers and foetuses.
Meanwhile, chlorpyrifos is notorious for its links with children's slow development, lower IQ and short attention span. In adults, studies shows it is related to the growth of colon cancer cells as well as symptoms of depression. The pesticide is also widely found in surface and underground water, including freshwater fish.
While most farm produce in the market contains toxic chemical residue above safety standards, chlorpyrifos is the biggest offender. Apart from posing serious health hazards to local consumers, it also affects Thai farm produce for export.
One study last year showed chlorpyrifos residue in sweet basil was 110 times above safe levels. Interestingly, pesticide and herbicide residues from already banned toxic substances are found in farm produces, which speaks volumes about state inefficiency.
According to the Public Health Ministry, the number of farmers affected by toxic farm chemicals is rising at an alarming rate.
From 2010 to 2016, the number of patients rose nearly eight-fold. Illnesses include acute poisoning, severe skin and respiratory problems, disruption of the nervous system, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.
Pregnant women are especially vulnerable, directly affecting infants and putting them at risk of retarded mental development and other illnesses.
To say Thailand is awash in poison is not an overstatement.
The nation imports more than 160,000 tonnes of agricultural chemicals a year, worth up to 22 billion baht. Due to a lack of effective control and free-wheeling marketing schemes, there are about 27,000 brands in the market compared to just 1,743 in Vietnam, 1,158 in Indonesia and 917 in Malaysia.
According to the World Bank, Thailand is the world's fifth-biggest user of farm chemicals. What's more, about 70% of chemical pesticides used here are highly hazardous and cannot be used in Western countries.
But why single out paraquat and chlorpyrifos for the ban and strictly control glyphosate, you may ask?
According to Biothai, a non-governmental organisation, paraquat amounts to 20% of all imported agricultural chemicals. Chlorpyrifos is among the top imported chemical insecticides and the No.1 residue found in farm produce. Glyphosate, meanwhile, is the country's top imported weedkiller with links to cancer.
Since those three account for the majority of imported farm chemicals, it's easy to see where fierce resistance against their restricted use comes from. Moreover, the permits, which will expire at the end of this month, cannot be renewed under the ban order.
Furious at what they see as bureaucratic tactics to help the agrochemical industry, Thai-Pan, a pesticide alert network, and a number of civic groups rallied last week to petition the premier to execute the ban.
Since October is the time for renewing the six-year permits, the rally also aimed at preventing the DOA from extending their lease of life.
Banning the highly toxic chemical pesticides and herbicides is necessary, but they are only part of the problem caused by the government's decades-long policy push for chemical farming through the so-called "Green Revolution".
The excessive use of chemical fertiliser has also polluted the soil and waterways across the country. The high levels of nitrate makes groundwater wells unsafe for drinking. Runoff from farms causes algae to explode, which depletes oxygen for fish and marine life in inland waterways and coastal seas.
Meanwhile, the high levels of nitrate are also believed to have links to a host of diseases including lymphoma, bladder and digestive tract cancer, diabetes, some birth defects and miscarriages.
Despite such high costs on the environment and public health, rice-farming productivity in Thailand remains the lowest in mainland Southeast Asia while Thai farmers' income per rai is the lowest.
Instead of resisting the ban, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives must make environmentally friendly farming the country's top agricultural priority. It is safe. It is healthy. It is also good for exports.
Of course, it will not make the agrochemical industry happy, nor its supporters in the ministry.
Weaning farmers off chemical farming demands the support of the government. Soil rehabilitation takes time and environmentally friendly farming requires new skills and forms of innovation.
The road ahead is long. Hopefully, it will be free of toxic chemicals, too.