Legislators wary of fake fertilizers

SEMARANG: Most of the fertilizers sold to farmers across Central Java are potentially dangerous to human beings and the environment because of their inappropriate chemical composition, a provincial legislator said on Saturday.

Quoting a recent survey conducted by the province's agency for agricultural technology research, Sutoyo Abadi, a member of the commission for economic affairs, said 16 out of the 22 types of fertilizer analyzed contained a different composition of substances from that listed on their packets.

"Those illegal fertilizers can cause side effects that endanger the environment and contaminate agricultural produce," Sutoyo from the Golkar faction told The Jakarta Post.

Fertilizers with a safe composition are Sulfomag Plus, Tabur C, SP 36, KCI Russia, Agrofos and KCI Canada, Sutoyo quoted the research agency's survey.

He urged the local government to stop the sale of dangerous fertilizers. (har/01)