The Biologists Association is blocking the tender for the purchase of Sumilarv, a pesticide approved for the control of mosquitoes, Kibris Postasi reports.
According to Ebru Çeneli, the Director of Tamçağ Trading Ltd., the company which imports pesticides, “The Biologists Association is not allowing the legal use of this pesticide to enter into tenders. The Biologists Association has deviated from its intended purpose“.
She emphasised that Sumilarv has been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Çeneli explained that the Ministry of Health has been causing significant losses to the state for years by purchasing the pesticide from a single company, which is being used by more than 10 municipalities and numerous institutions. This has resulted in substantial financial losses due to the Euro exchange rate. She pointed out that their own products are sold to municipalities in Turkey and Northern Cyprus in Turkish Lira. She highlighted that the opposition to the use of this pesticide in our country without scientific basis, despite its use in many countries worldwide, is detrimental to the state.
“The Biologists Association is not allowing the legal use of the pesticide to enter into tenders. The Biologists Association has deviated from its intended purpose, and their statements give the impression of bias. This persistent behaviour casts suspicion on the Undersecretary of Health, Düriye Deren Oygar“, Çeneli stated.
Çeneli believed that the Biologists Association was manipulating the situation through media outlets close to them. She emphasised that her company had requested that the scientists discuss the issue within the context of science.
“We don’t seek special privileges“, Director Çeneli emphasised. She said, “We are not only requesting the use of our own pesticide. We advocate for the correct use of our pesticide and the other pesticides in the right places, and their combined use where necessary. We have full faith that the Minister of Health, Mr. Hakan Dinçyürek, will impartially examine the situation to put an end to the monopoly that has been in place for years“.
*In an earlier report published by Kibris Postasi, it was stated that the Biologists Association had said that merely spraying pesticides into the air to combat the Asian Tiger Mosquito which is a carrier for the West Nile virus among others, is ineffective [Ed.]
