Dr. Saif Mohammed Al Ghais, Director-General of the Environment Protection and Development Authority in Ras Al Khaimah, confirmed that the Authority is working on continuous environmental control directed at all farms located and operating in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, with the aim of verifying their application of the requirements related to preserving food safety and protecting biodiversity. He stated that the authority had set mid-September to mid-November as a date to permanently ban the use of pesticides and agricultural pesticides on farms, with the aim of preserving humans and sustaining agricultural production that benefits farmers.

Dr. Saif Al-Ghais told Al-Ittihad: “Honey bees and some of the various insects play an active and important role in achieving food security for the production of crops for the agricultural sector in the country, and in order to preserve these products and crops from diseases and insect pests, the use of pesticides may cause the presence of Poisoning, which poses a threat to human health and beneficial insects.

He stated that there are many highly toxic agricultural pesticides that affect humans and honey bees, and negatively affect their colonies if prohibited pesticides are used or excessively used, as well as affect other beneficial insects, as bees are attracted to blooming flowers of all kinds and transport Pollen, and in order to preserve these creatures, spraying of pesticides must be completely avoided during the specified period from mid-September to mid-November.

He pointed out that in the necessary cases in which farms may tend to spray pesticides, their owners must notify the authority by communicating with it at least 72 hours in advance in order to obtain a temporary permit authorized to use pesticides in accordance with the specific instructions and under the supervision of the authority as well.

Al-Ghais advised owners and farm workers to avoid the use of insecticides and fungicides during flowering, as they may harm bees and insects if they eat the nectar from the flower, with a commitment to applying the circular issued that protects these farms from obtaining environmental violations that direct different penalties depending on the size of the violation committed .

He pointed out that the authority recently issued a circular that includes inspectors to collect samples from farms operating in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, on a regular basis, to reduce pesticide residues in agricultural products, which includes the necessity of farmers' commitment to ban the circulation and use of useful pesticides by unlicensed companies for what It is extremely dangerous, and it is forbidden to spray agricultural crops during the day during the period specified for the ban and to allow the authority's employees to obtain the required samples.

He stated that the authority's employees began the tasks of distributing the circular regarding this decision at the entrances to farms throughout the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, to urge farmers and farm owners to abide by the requirements of the issued circular and contribute to the preservation of biological diversity, the promotion of biological control, and the preservation of agricultural crops and beneficial creatures.