Officials split on Chinese banana farms

THAI authorities have said that Chinese-owned banana plantations will be allowed to operate in Chiang Rai despite the government of Laos banning similar farms over serious environmental concerns. 
But the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has disclosed that tests conducted on samples from a plantation in Chiang Rai all found contamination and the chemicals used can cause health problems for workers in the long term. 
Laos recently ordered all Chinese-owned banana plantations to stop operating after finding that Chinese owners had |conspired with local officials to import dangerous chemicals for use on the farms. The chemicals allegedly caused severe environmental damage and affected people’s health. 
Laos News reported on Sunday that the Lao National Assembly had called on the Lao government to closely inspect the Chinese-owned banana plantations, to clearly list the banned chemicals used and revise contracts with Chinese investors in order to tackle problems caused by the massive use of potentially hazardous chemicals. 
However, there was no response from the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry in relation to the 2,000-rai banana plantation in Chiang Rai’s Phaya Meng Rai district. 
The ministry’s permanent-secretary claimed that it had not had any reports about environmental problems caused by the banana plantation in Chiang Rai, and as far as he knew, the plantations were now managed by a Thai firm. 
As for the Laos government’s decision to ban similar plantations, he said he would have to investigate the matter before any decisions could be made. 
Suthep Thiprat, Chiang Rai Provincial Agricultural Extension Office director, said his office had kept an eye on the plantation and had confirmed that there was no use of dangerous chemicals on the farm. 
“The farm is officially inspected twice a month and the fertiliser and pesticide used is checked. So far, we have not seen any dangerous chemicals being used and if we do find banned substances on the farm, we can arrest the owners and close down the plantation,” Suthep said. 
But Somkiat Khuenchaingsa, an NHRC subcommittee member on communal rights and resources, contradicted the ministry’s claims, revealing that tests on samples collected from the Chiang Rai plantation showed chemical contamination. 
“The NHRC and Thailand Pesticide Alert Network collected soil, water, banana and blood samples from workers in June and had them sent to a qualified laboratory. The test results showed that all samples from the farm were contaminated,” Somkiat said. 
He said that glyphosate and propiconazole were found in the soil samples, prochloraz in banana samples and propiconazole in the water. 
He added that though these chemicals were not dangerous, they would have an adverse effect on workers if they were exposed to them over the long term. 
The NHRC also said that after it inspected the plantation in June, the province set up a committee to keep an eye on the plantation. Somkiat said the commission was due to receive a report from the panel by July 7, but did not have any information yet.