Hanoi  - Vietnamese farmers and agriculture experts on Thursday criticized a draft government decree that would punish farmers for using counterfeit fertilizer.

The proposal, introduced July 23 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, would fine farmers up to 560 dollars for use of fake fertilizers leading to environmental pollution.

"It is the farmer who suffers losses from fake fertilizers," said Pham Si Binh, a senior official in Tan Phong Commune, a farming community in the Red River Delta province of Hai Duong. "Why would authorities fine them?"

"Punishment should be applied to government officials who are responsible for monitoring fertilizers," Binh said.

Phan Huy Thong, deputy director of the Agriculture Ministry's Department of Cultivation, said the measure was necessary to fight pollution.

"People who use fake or banned products, cause environmental pollution or collude with traders of fake fertilizers must be punished," Thong said.

Thong said the counterfeit fertilizers often contain toxic or improperly processed ingredients.

Pham Trung Dong, deputy chairman of Giang Nam Commune in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, called the proposed decree "impossible to put into practice."

"How can farmers distinguish between genuine and fake products, especially when they have the same labels?" Dong asked.

Vietnamese inspectors found 110 out of 270 fertilizers they checked in nine Mekong River provinces in the first six months of the year were fake or substandard. Many types of fertilizer had a nutritional content 70 to 80 per cent lower than required. (dpa)