durian/long read...

[Guest guest]

here's a wonderful durian site

www.durianpalace.com

 

and here's a not so wonderful article on durian

http://www.durianpalace.com/Thai_durian_agrochemicals.htm

the full article is below

 

norm )~

 

...... a little peace never hurt anyone .....

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" DANGEROUS DURIAN "

Community Magazine

Koh Samui

Suratthani province, southern Thailand

July 2003 issue

 

 

 

Sometimes it's easy to forget that Koh Samui is not just a tourist

island. Farming and fishing communities continue to flourish here as

they have for decades in the island's towns and villages, and a large

proportion of the population go about their daily business without ever

coming into contact with foreigners or their pervasive influence.

Sometimes in fact, agriculture can have a serious impact on important

issues that affect everyone on the island. This month, Community looks

beyond tourism and development, and talks to those involved in fruit

farming on Koh Samui.

The Bad Seed

 

Coconut farming is the most obvious alternative economy to tourism, but

the island is also a fruit farming region, and crops like the

distinctive durian fruit are exported all over the world. This large,

yellow fruit with its dinosaur-like skin and pungent aroma is considered

a delicacy throughout Southeast Asia, and demand is therefore high. On

Koh Samui in particular, the soil in the mountains is perfect for durian

trees, and at present more than eleven thousand rai of land is being

used for durian cultivation. The first of these trees was planted 50

years ago by Da Nim (Uncle Nim) around the waterfall that now takes his

name, and the fruit they bore was originally bought and consumed

locally. Thanks to the quality of the climate and soil, the durian trees

matured faster than in other parts of Thailand and the fruit soon gained

a reputation for quality. Around 1987, things began to change on Koh

Samui as tourism took hold of the island and business people from

Bangkok and the mainland started to buy up land. Much of the best farm

land changed hands during this period, which also marked the beginning

of large scale durian farming and the introduction of new methods and

technologies to produce fruit for the export market. The early fruiting

cycle meant that Samui durian was available out of season, and many

farmers prospered by this, charging higher than average prices for their

untimely fruit. Unfortunately, the change in production techniques also

led to the widespread use of chemicals as fertilizers and insecticides,

and before long the side effects of chemical excess began to have a

detrimental effect on the land, as well as on the people farming it.

 

The World Health Organization claims that problems relating to the use

of chemicals in farming now affect more than one million people per year

world-wide and that chemicals account for as many as 19,000 deaths, 80%

of which occur in developing countries. Insecticides are often sprayed

across a wide area for maximum coverage but in reality only about 45% of

the substance ever reaches the trees. The remaining chemicals are either

absorbed into the soil or caught in the wind and spread throughout the

surrounding environment. An estimated 4% of pesticide actually hits the

insects, and just 1% kills them effectively which represents massive

wastage than can actually do more harm than good. Insects quickly

develop resistance to chemicals and this means that manufacturers

develop new products every year. Some previously benign creatures

actually mutate and begin to attack valuable crops while other

non-threatening, beneficial insects like bees, pollinators of new

plants, are killed, and this causes the ecological system to break down.

Despite these detrimental effects, farmers continue to spray their crops

in the belief that it will yield a better harvest, and international

buyers from the chemical-conscious West demand exceptional quality, yet

do little to monitor or advise on how this can be safely achieved in a

developing world. The problem clearly needs to be addressed and the WHO

says that in order to do this it must be considered everyone's

responsibility: producers, buyers, and consumers.

 

In Thailand, the chemical effect reached its peak recently when several

large batches of durian bound for foreign markets were returned unsold

when countries complained that the fruit contained too many chemicals.

The resulting drop in exports could hit farmers hard, and with the

current tourist slump to contend with, this would not be good news for

either the island or the national economy. Durian farmers in particular

need advice and effective strategies for a reduction in the use of

chemicals in their farming. Mountain land needs ground vegetation to

hold the soil and runoff, and chemicals also affect the flood plains and

seep into the water supply. Environmentally friendly farming and

responsible land use will provide a long-term source of food and income

for local people in years to come.

 

The Higher Plan

 

Mr. Teerayutyh Chuangchoot is the Samui director of the Ministry of

Agriculture, and according to him, durian is by far the biggest fruit

export from this island. It is imported whole by countries such as

Taiwan, exported as pre-processed produce to China and Hong Kong, and

frozen for the European markets. He said that reports identifying Koh

Samui as a major culprit in the recent return of durian fruit were

inaccurate because large buyers generally draw on provinces from all

over Thailand for their supply.

 

" Some countries allow certain chemicals to be used in the cultivation of

durian, others do not. In reality it is the very countries who export

these chemicals to Thailand who also reject fruit that is found to

contain them. We are now beginning to monitor farmers more closely

ourselves and have set up a membership scheme which will be supported by

teaching and advice on the use of agricultural chemicals. Some chemicals

are harmless, but we have set limits on these. Others are harmless to

consumers if the fruit is left for an extended period before being

picked, usually around 15 days, and the overuse of chemicals is

generally due to the farmer's misconceptions that more chemicals equals

better fruit. Many also believe that chemicals will make the durian look

nicer, which is a demand than international buyers often make of their

suppliers. We need to dispel these myths and ensure than farmers agree

with and stick to the government guidelines. "

 

The Ministry has already held meetings with local farmers and so far

there are 57 members, all of whom agreed to regular checks and quality

control visits. The members are registered with the Ministry of

Agriculture in Bangkok, who in turn give their names to exporters with a

guarantee that members operate within government limits. If the farmers

are found later to be excessive in their use of chemicals, they will be

removed from the list and therefore risk losing their buyers.

 

" Farmers on Koh Samui have already been issued a manual; the next step

will be to conduct covert checks of both the crops and farming methods.

There is increasing interest among many local producers in alternative

farming methods using a more organic approach, which in Thailand would

not only be safer, but also cheaper than applying chemicals. Until we

can implement such practices we have to focus on acceptable limits to

make sure the fruit we harvest on the island is safe. "

 

Agricultural chemicals when used in excess can cause very severe

long-term damage to people's health. The body cannot break down or

absorb them, but they can stay in the system for years and result in

serious illness in old age. Farmers themselves will be worst affected,

as they have the most contact with the substances, but the chemicals

also come down from the mountains during the rains and enter the water

supply, and have been known to kill fish and animals living near streams

and rivers. Even tourists have reported skin irritations from shower

water that has been contaminated. As the WHO report says, the use of

chemicals in fruit farming is definitely everybody's problem.

 

The Grim Reaper

 

Khun Suchart Ruengthong began planting trees on his land 24 years ago in

the mountains of Samui and now has 50 rai devoted exclusively to durian

cultivation. One durian tree normally takes 7-8 years to produce fruit,

but in the island's fertile soils his trees take just five. He currently

has around 800 trees producing 30-50 fruit every year, which at an

average of 4 kg per fruit, amounts to almost 70 tons of durian annually.

 

" The land in the mountains here is special. The climate is very wet and

we can get three times the harvest of other areas in Thailand.

Fortunately, with such good conditions we can mainly use more

eco-friendly fertilizers and don't need to apply powerful pesticides

like monprotofos, which the government has now banned because it damages

the land and makes the fruit toxic. "

 

Most durian farmers however use two types of chemicals in the

cultivation of durian: one restricts the flowering process, which means

fruit can be exported out of season, and thus get a better price, the

other kills insects and is widely believed to make the fruit look nicer.

Ugly fruit does not sell for export, and unfortunately the pressures of

economy mean that factors such as these take precedence over safety.

 

" Most durian farmers don't really know how to use chemicals. They just

read the bottle for instructions, and they ignore time limits and

quantity guidelines because they want to sell more fruit. I personally

think that durian tastes better when chemicals are not used at all, but

I am not an exporter, I am a farmer. I heard about the durian being

returned to Thailand and I know this fruit was very young. It is

worrying to hear such things because if we do not keep a standard for

the whole country we will lose some of our exports and that would be

very serious indeed. "

 

Khun Suchart Ruengthong is all in favour of the government's new

membership scheme but so far has not been given any literature or heard

of any checks being carried out on Koh Samui. His views on chemicals

certainly support the need for such controls.

 

" I think some chemicals are necessary, but in my opinion most of them

are only 60-70% safe, and all the workers on my farm wear special

protective clothing, including masks, when they apply chemicals to the

crops. I have to admit that even with these special clothes I would not

like to do it myself. That's why I employ them. "

 

Community Conclusion

 

Despite widespread development and tourism on Koh Samui, it is still

very much a Thai island and agriculture remains one of the mainstays of

this country's developing economy. Large investment in specific high

profit sectors may create a number of wealthy landowners, but in the

long term the population as a whole will only benefit if traditional

economies are also given the knowledge and funding they need to compete

in a global market. People can either choose to blame or penalize

farmers for their excessive use of chemicals, or they can support

efforts to train them and develop techniques for cultivation that do not

damage either the environment or the economy. JK

 

Community magazine

www.samuicommunity.com

info

 

C2003 Community magazine, reproduced by permission.