Farmers ask court to overrule farm chemicals ban

Farmers' representatives from six provinces on Monday asked the Administrative Court to overrule the government's ban on three toxic chemicals, arguing that the decision was poorly informed and affected their livelihood.

Anchulee Lak-amnuayporn filed the complaint on behalf of about 1,000 growers of fruit and other crops in Chanthaburi, Ratchaburi, Samut Songkhram, Rayong, Suphan Buri and Nakhon Ratchasima provinces.

They are opposed to the National Hazardous Substances Committee's decision last Tuesday to ban the herbicides paraquat and glyphosate and pesticide chlorpyrifos, to protect the health of farmers and consumers.

According to Ms Anchulee, the decision violated the rights of farmers nationwide because there was no plan to protect them from the higher costs of switching to other chemicals or to provide effective alternatives to the three chemicals that will be banned from Dec 1.

The decision on Oct 22 was made without reliable scientific information on the residue left by the three chemicals, Ms Achulee said.

She asked the Administrative Court to issue a six-month injunction to permit the use of the three chemicals pending the court's decision on the application.

She asked the court to overrule the ban and order the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry to help affected farmers and act to ensure that the chemicals are used safely, for the benefit of farmers and consumers.