Cotton-Killer

In general, over the past two weeks more than 140 cotton growers have been poisoned. In this regard lawsuits have been filed, and the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Agency for Food Security disseminated information that indirectly pointed to the fault of companies engaged in cotton growing.

According to the statement, the responsible representatives of the companies do not conduct the necessary instruction with the workers, they involve them in field work, without waiting for the validity of the chemical preparations. Minister of Agriculture Inam Kerimov also noted the responsibility of cotton companies, but added that the quality of chemicals used in the fields is being investigated: "Presumably, these events may occur due to poor quality of imported drugs or the failure of private companies to comply with safety rules." Obviously, both assumptions are true, since July 1, the import of chemical preparations will be carried out by the State Food Security Agency instead of the State Phytosanitary Control Service, the head of the service Guliyev Jamal is dismissed from his post, and some responsible persons of companies engaged in the production of cotton are brought to criminal liability.

It is interesting that no official structure mentions the names of chemical preparations, which in all probability led to multiple mass poisonings of people. Taking into account the current realities, it is worthwhile to assume that the drugs were either overdue, or even very cheap, and banned for use.

In the past, various pesticides were often used in cotton cultivation to control various insects and diseases. In 1989, more than 40,000 tons of pesticides on 84 items were imported to Azerbaijan. Then the republic ranked the first in the former USSR on the use of pesticides per hectare. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, huge stocks of pesticides remained without control, in 1995 there was a massive drop in livestock in the Ujar region, which was caused by poisoning with obsolete chemicals.

However, technologies develop, and, according to Matanat Avazova, the deputy director of the National Department for Environmental Monitoring of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, pest control in cotton fields by spraying pesticides with airplanes and causing damage to the environment is unthinkable today. According to her, after the 1980s, the use of dangerous pesticides was suspended at the international level: "Experts of the Ministry once carried out an inventory of pesticides, which were then transported to the Jangin cemetery (a polygon in the Gobustan administrative district, 53 kilometers from Baku and two kilometers from the Baku-Shemakha highway near the village of Jangi). Pesticides are placed in bunkers from concrete slabs, where they are buried in wells." Avazova in a statement to journalists stressed that today various drugs against plant diseases and pests are created on a biological basis. "Of course, they are more expensive, but international organizations have stopped producing hazardous pesticides, and we have to buy modern drugs. In the Ministry of Ecology there is a special list of drugs that are prohibited from being applied in the country. By signing a number of conventions, Azerbaijan has undertaken the responsibility not to use dangerous chemical compounds. Very strict control is applied to imported drugs, and they will not be applied without expertise of the Ministry of Ecology," the expert said.

However, she did not fail to note that soil monitoring for the presence of pesticides is not carried out due to the fact that hazardous substances are not being used, and in addition, access to private land requires a special permit. If everything is the same as an expert claimed a few months ago, why then did mass poisoning take place this summer?

In 2003, Azerbaijan ratified the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Poisonous Substances. According to the convention, a number of pesticides are banned for use in the countries that have signed it. However, according to some experts, pesticide stocks are still in the territories of Salyan, Neftchala, Jalilabad, Agjabedi, Beylagan, Agdash and several other regions. Among the stocks of banned pesticides are DDT, hexachlorane, isoprene, sodiumprofinate, chlorophos, etc. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, about 500 tons of pesticides are imported annually into Azerbaijan, and according to the OSCE, some of them are counterfeit.

Counterfeit pesticides are dangerous for the life and health of farmers, since even minor changes in their properties can significantly increase the toxicological effect of the chemical on the body (short-term and long-term disruption of the heart, kidneys, liver, endocrine system, death), and lead to acute poisoning. According to the organization, counterfeit pesticides are not only imported from abroad, but also produced in all countries of the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan.

Such a business brings a fabulous profit, and it is possible that in recent cases of poisoning of cotton growers the counterfeit pesticide did not play a role. In favor of this version, says that at the recent poisoning in Sabirabad, according to local residents, all safety rules were observed. That is, after the spraying chemicals, the entrance is allowed only 10 days later, however, despite the fact that 17 days have passed, the cotton growers are still poisoned.

In 2017, the State Program for the Development of Cotton Growing was adopted. According to official data, about 500 cotton harvesters were purchased for the development of the industry, tractors and other special equipment were started in the country. According to President Ilham Aliyev, since 2017 Azerbaijan has started production of pesticides, which have never been produced in Azerbaijan. Why, then, is cotton still collected mostly by hand, and pesticides are still purchased? Still there are many questions, but there are no answers, and poisoning continues. Fortunately, there are not lethal cases after poisonings. You never know what may happen while the state structures are asleep?