Agriculture Ministry working on new penalties for violators of pesticides regulations

The Agriculture Ministry is drafting legislation that would regulate pesticide usage in agriculture and set stricter punishments for the use of unsanctioned pesticides, Agriculture Minister Abdel Moneim El Banna said on Monday, according to Al Mal. The move is meant to address health concerns, El Banna added. The overuse of pesticides in Egypt’s agriculture produce has been an issue of growing concern, especially after a number of Arab countries banned Egyptian agricultural exports. Saudi Arabia had banned Egyptian strawberries last month, saying they contained alarming levels of pesticides, to which Egypt had responded by saying it would impose international quality standards on future agricultural exports to avoid similar incidents.