Experts Weigh on Iran’s Use of Pesticide on Crops

As the news of Russia returning Iran’s bell pepper export consignments spread recently, officials from the private and public sectors commented on the issue.
While some are contradictory, most comments point a finger of blame at organizations affiliated with the Agriculture Ministry.
Mehdi Hosseini Yazdi, the head of Pesticide and Fertilizer Importers Union, says there are two sets of statistics when it comes to pesticides.
“The set of figures Plant Protection Organization releases pertain to the number or percentage of registered pesticides while the data, which make all the difference, are the ones related to the volume of pesticides used. PPO figures show only 5% of the pesticides [meaning registered ones] in the country are categorized under ‘hazardous’, yet, as far as we know, 23% of the used pesticides are hazardous,” the official was quoted as saying by ILNA.