Veggies safe for eating, assure Sibu farmers

Agriculture Dept tests show negative contamination: Kong

SIBU: Consumers can rest assured that vegetables sold at the Sibu Central Market are safe for consumption, Sibu Planter Association chairman Kong Hua Kwong said yesterday.Speaking in reaction to a report in a Chinese daily that farmers had used pes­ticide excessively for their vegetables, he claimed that the report was erro­neous.

Farmers, he said, were aware that such practice would harm the consumers, and as considerate and responsible farmers they would not do anything hazardous to consumers.

Most of the vegetable planters here are found in Sungai Assan, Oya Road and Sungai Bidut. Kong said his association had never found any vegetable from these farmers that was contami­nated by pesticide to the level harmful to consumers.

He said planters here used pesticide in compliance with the standard requirement set by the Agriculture Department.

“All of us listen to the instructions given by the Agriculture Department.  In fact, all our farmers here are professionals because they are trained by the depart­ment,” he said.

He said vegetable samples taken by the Agriculture Department for tests had shown negative contami­nation.

Some vegetable planters have stopped using pesti­cide, Kong said.

“They are using enzyme instead,” he said.