UN allocated $ 230,000 to fight illegal trafficking in pesticides in Zakarpattia

It is reported that this Center is launching a nationwide action to help affected agroproducers from purchasing counterfeit or unusable pesticides. In addition to the Center in Uzhhorod, it is planned to open similar organizations in the Odessa and Kyiv regions of the country until the end of 2018.

"The creation and support of information centers on combating counterfeit takes place within the framework of the project on improving chemical safety in Ukraine and strengthening regulatory institutions and legislation in this area. The project, launched early last year, is working to optimize the implementation of the Rotterdam Convention, which is designed to help countries to resist unwanted trade in chemicals, and harmonize methods of disseminating information between government departments, business and consumers, " is said in the message.

The team of the Information Center "Farmer Patrol" included lawyers, environmentalists, specialists of the plant protection products market, in cooperation with national customs and law enforcement bodies, will provide professional advice from possible ways of responding to the identification or acquisition of suspicious SZR, including potential damage compensation as a result application of a counterfeit product.

Experts will actively engage in educational activities in the Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Volyn regions, will regularly conduct field seminars with farmers on the problems of illegal trafficking in pesticides and disseminate information about the location of official sales outlets of original plant protection products.

"We managed to unite all the stakeholders of this process - the state bodies of customs control, environmental inspectors, representatives of business and science - at one table, which gave us the opportunity to analyze legislative gaps, deeper study of the counterfeit commodity market and agree on approaches to a more effective partnership between all the services involved and better tracking the end user, " says Yarema Hertsyk, Lead Specialist of the Special Program Project UNEP.

The UNEP Special Program aims to support the institutional development of countries for more effective implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, the Minamata Convention and the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine is the main recipient of the project's assistance, and the total budget is about 230,000 US dollars.

54 applications from 45 countries were submitted for participation in the Program, and Ukraine became one of the seven countries that received funding under this project. The implementation is entrusted to the international non-governmental organization Green Cross Switzerland. The project will work until April 2019.