The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has mandated that, during the epidemic prevention and control period, strict oversight be maintained over prohibited drugs and other measures to ensure the production of “vegetable basket” products.

Recently, in order to proactively address the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has vigorously deployed and prioritized key measures to ensure the production and supply of “vegetable basket” products. It has emphasized that safeguarding supply must balance quantity with quality and safety, firmly upholding the bottom line of agricultural product quality and safety. On February 6, the Ministry issued the “Notice on Resolutely Ensuring the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products During Epidemic Prevention and Control” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”). The Notice is primarily structured around the following five aspects:

I. Closely monitor prohibited drugs. To strengthen the management of highly toxic pesticides, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will rigorously enforce a designated‑point sales and real‑name purchase system for all existing highly toxic pesticide varieties and strictly investigate any covert addition of unauthorized ingredients to pesticides. Priority will be given to addressing pressing issues such as excessive pesticide residues in “vegetable basket” products—particularly fresh leafy vegetables—detection of prohibited drugs during the laying period in poultry eggs, and the presence of clenbuterol in beef and mutton. These measures aim to prevent the indiscriminate use of chemicals driven by the pursuit of speed and yield, thereby averting major incidents affecting agricultural product quality and safety.

The Notice requires agricultural regulatory authorities at all levels to strictly enforce their local and supervisory responsibilities, ensure that work on the quality and safety of agricultural products is carried out thoroughly and meticulously, and never allow urgent market demands to compromise quality and safety.

II. Effectively Implement the Certificate of Conformity System The certificate-of‑compliance system is an effective measure during the special period of epidemic prevention and control, as it both minimizes person-to-person contact and ensures that principal entities assume their responsibilities. Sichuan Province’s first such certificate helped deliver donated vegetables to Wuhan, playing a positive role in ensuring both the supply and quality of vegetables during this epidemic response.

The Notice states that agricultural and rural departments at all levels should study and draw on Sichuan’s experience and practices, actively promoting and implementing the certificate-of‑compliance system through WeChat, online platforms, and other channels. They are to guide producers in strengthening their awareness of quality and safety, enhancing self‑monitoring, independently issuing certificates of compliance, and making self‑commitments. Furthermore, it encourages “vegetable basket” products—including vegetables, fruits, livestock and poultry, poultry eggs, and farmed aquatic products—to be marketed with accompanying certificates of compliance. In addition, for the transportation of “vegetable basket” products from key regions such as Hubei, measures must be taken at the source to ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products; relevant testing institutions, when issuing test reports as required, are also expected to provide guidance to producers on obtaining certificates of compliance.

III. Strengthen Risk Monitoring. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will, in accordance with epidemic prevention and control requirements, adjust the routine monitoring activities for the first quarter of 2020 by abolishing inter-provincial sampling. Local authorities are also expected to align their monitoring approaches with evolving pandemic trends, flexibly adapt implementation methods, appropriately determine sampling ratios for production and market stages, and organize on-site sampling as close to the source as possible, thereby ensuring a clear understanding of potential risks to the quality and safety of agricultural products within their jurisdictions.

The Notice emphasizes that, while strengthening epidemic prevention and control, risk monitoring must remain uninterrupted; monitoring parameters should be precisely defined, testing efficiency diligently enhanced, and results delivered promptly—both through rapid instrument operation and swift reporting—to ensure the timeliness and accuracy of risk monitoring in emergency situations. In addition, the role of township-level regulatory service stations should be leveraged to conduct rapid screening tests, serving as an effective extension and supplement to agricultural product quality and safety risk monitoring.

IV. Crack down rigorously on counterfeit and substandard agricultural inputs. At present, some agricultural production input bases have reported supply shortages. This could create opportunities for counterfeit and substandard agricultural inputs to enter the market.

The Notice states that it is necessary to proactively assess the impact of epidemic prevention and control measures on the supply of agricultural inputs, strengthen targeted public education and risk warnings for farmers, and guide them to procure these inputs through official channels. In addition, in light of the high demand for key products during spring plowing, a special campaign to combat counterfeit and substandard agricultural inputs should be planned and implemented, with strict enforcement against violations such as insufficient active ingredients in fertilizers, infringement and counterfeiting of seeds, and the illegal production and sale of prohibited or substandard pesticides. Such measures are intended to prevent fake and inferior agricultural inputs from harming farmers, ensuring that they have access to reliable seeds, medicines, and fertilizers.

V. Increase the supply of green, high-quality agricultural products. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has also actively coordinated efforts to ensure the production and supply of “vegetable basket” products, guiding green and organic agricultural producers and standardized production bases for green food raw materials across the country to accelerate the resumption of operations. To help enterprises overcome practical challenges, the validity of certificates for green food enterprises, production bases, and testing institutions requiring renewal has been extended by three months after the end of the epidemic; certification audit fees and logo‑use fees have been waived for green food enterprises in high‑incidence areas such as Hubei during the current year, and certification fees have been reduced for organic agricultural producers.

In addition, to help producers and operators better fulfill their principal responsibilities, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has commissioned experts to develop the “Operational Guidelines for Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products during the Prevention and Control of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia,” and has actively promoted the dissemination of knowledge on agricultural product quality and safety to villages, households, and fields. This ensures that every producer and operator remains vigilant about quality and safety, thereby making a positive contribution to resolutely winning the battle against the epidemic and ensuring stable agricultural production and supply.
 

Source: Xinhua Net