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Following is a question by the Hon Sin Chung-kai and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (July 2):
Question:
Gibberellic acid, a plant growth regulator, is a pesticide registered under the Pesticides Ordinance (Cap. 133). However, a group of farmers have recently relayed to me that the pesticide is highly toxic. They have also claimed that Tai Lung Experimental Station of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) taught farmers to use gibberellic acid in growing strawberries, which AFCD has denied, adding that the pesticide has very low toxicity to mammals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if the European Union or other countries have prohibited the use of gibberellic acid; if they have done so, of the details and the reasons for the Government not following the practices of those countries; and
(2) whether it has made guidelines to teach farmers the proper and safe use of plant growth regulators (including the appropriate quantities to be applied); if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(1) Gibberellic acid, a plant growth regulator, is a registered pesticide (registration number: 2P112) under the Pesticides Ordinance (Cap 133). All along, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) only registers pesticides that are classified as slightly or moderately hazardous by the World Health Organization (WHO). AFCD also imposes restrictions on the formulation and concentration of registered pesticides. According to WHO's classification of pesticides by hazard (Note) , gibberellic acid belongs to the class of pesticides which are "unlikely to present acute hazard in normal use". Information provided by the European Union (EU) on the internet shows that the EU does not prohibit the use of gibberellic acid. According to the information available to AFCD, gibberellic acid is a registered pesticide in many countries, including the US, Canada, Mainland China, Australia and New Zealand and can be used on a wide range of crops.
(2) AFCD considers it unnecessary for farmers to use plant growth regulators in their cultivation. AFCD has never advised local farmers to use gibberellic acid in growing strawberries. In case individual farmers wish to use any plant growth regulators, they should follow the instructions on application quantity and method as specified in the product labels.
Note: According to the WHO classification by hazard, there are five classes of pesticides, namely those which are "extremely hazardous", "highly hazardous", "moderately hazardous", "slightly hazardous" and "unlikely to present acute hazard in normal use".
Ends/Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Issued at HKT 18:10
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