Nothing beats the aroma of holy basil and its nutritional benefits. But while rich in antioxidants and antibacterial properties, a recent study from the Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN) revealed that holy basil sold at markets in Bangkok is also rich in pesticides — with 62.5% more than the Maximum Residue Limits (MRL). Moreover, holy basil was not the only vegetable found to contain all sorts of pesticides in startling amounts.
Members of the Sai Sueb Pak Sod project can act as 'detectives' by notifying the Consumer Protection Police.
In a bid to tackle the problem of vegetables being glazed with toxic substances, the Consumer Protection Police Division has launched a project called Sai Sueb Pak Sod (Fresh Vegetable Detectives) in collaboration with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and other agriculture-related organisations, both public and private. Now in its second year, the project aims to establish a large network of people to discover vegetables contaminated with pesticides.
Last week, the project opened a forum for all stakeholders in the agricultural industry, from producers to consumers, to learn about the detrimental effects that can arise from the unbridled use of pesticides, as well as inviting them to be "detectives".
Those who volunteer for the role are encouraged to tip the consumer police off whenever they notice something wrong at all locations — from farms to markets.
"Once we [the police] receive a clue, we will begin investigating the case and try to track down the source of the problem," said Lt Tuenjai Matetapol, the project's co-ordinator. "For example, if we are notified by one of our detectives that a place is selling a banned pesticide, we will go directly to the shop and find out what's going on."
The Consumer Protection Police Division was founded in 2009 but has struggled to fully tackle the problem as well as promote itself to the public. Lt Tuenjai, however, believes that with co-operation from the public, the police will now be able to fight the problem more effectively.
"Because we are not able to screen everything by ourselves, clues from the public are really helpful," said Tuenjai. "The public can play an important role in this matter. People at community level know best about what is happening."
Samak Sornchai, who owns a melon farm in Chachoengsao, has been a member of the project since its first year.
"I think that the project is good," said Samak. "Our country's agriculture was pretty messed up. I had never seen the police bothering with this matter before. In the past, when something went wrong, we would have to report it to the Food and Drug Administration. The Department of Agriculture, which is mostly in charge of these issues, couldn't cover every problem either. But now we have the police."
Since Samak joined the programme, he has yet to report a case to the officers by himself. However, he has shared his knowledge about the adverse effects of pesticides.
"I haven't been the one to give the police information on suspicious acts like an actual detective yet," Samak said.
"My role is more like sharing what I have learnt about how to be a responsible agriculturist to those who are interested in doing the same thing."
Samak was one of the 150 members who volunteered to become a "detective" last year. This year, there are approximately 250 members.
Prokchon Usap, project co-ordinator of Thai-Pan, believes that for the problem to be solved, an overhaul of the agricultural industry — from the law to the monitoring system — is needed.
Even though Prokchon has not seen much progress in the project herself, she believes that it will play a small part in helping to solve the problem. However, she believes more effort is required.
"Though the forums spark participants to be more alert, the project must provide more knowledge for them," Prokchon said. "The participants too need to serve as active citizens."
