بررسی وضعیت فروشگاه های سموم دفع آفات نباتی از نظر تولید محصولات کشاورزی گواهی شده در استان زنجان

Food security is a cornerstone of national security, and the production of safe and sufficient agricultural products is essential for ensuring food security for society. The production of certified safe agricultural products is directly linked to the optimal and principled use of pesticides. In the absence of plant protection consultants in agricultural production fields, pesticide retailers play a key role in the health of agricultural products in the country. A study conducted in 2023 and 2024 to investigate the status of pesticide retailers in Zanjan province from the perspective of safe and certified agricultural product production revealed that out of 132 licensed pesticide retailers operating in the province, only 48% had a technical manager with expertise in plant protection. The remaining store managers were from other agricultural disciplines. Additionally, in more than 50% of these stores, the technical manager was not present in the store as the main salesperson at the time of the visit. In fact, less than 25% of the pesticides used by farmers in Zanjan province are sold by plant protection specialists. A field survey of the sales practices of over 60 stores found that the sale of pesticides without a plant protection prescription is a common and normal practice. The online registration of sold pesticides was also not observed during the visits. The product range of pesticide retailers was assessed as very weak, both in terms of the availability of new registered chemical pesticides and authorized biological pesticides. Out of 68 authorized biological pesticides in the country, only two products were observed in 8 stores. The unwillingness of farmers to purchase new pesticides due to their high price compared to old pesticides and the lack of demand for biological pesticides by farmers were the two main reasons cited by pesticide retailers to justify this issue. In a survey assessing the knowledge of retailers on the issue of certified agricultural product production and related concepts such as the procedure for obtaining a maximum residue limits (MRL) license, the knowledge of retailers was assessed as very weak. The knowledge of retailers on integrated pest management (IPM) for crops grown in their regions was also assessed as weak in a descriptive questionnaire and the knowledge of retailers was mainly focused on the use of pesticides. Based on the results of this research, it was found that despite the undeniable role of pesticide retailers in the food safety of agricultural products, the production of certified agricultural products is not a priority of these stores.