As a major producer and consumer of agricultural materials, authorities in South China's Guangdong province plan to increase efforts to supervise the production, sales and utilization of the products to improve safety.

Regulatory measures to enhance the supervision of agricultural materials, including seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, veterinary medicines, feeds and feed additives, will be put into effect by the provincial government.

The regulation will be effective from 2016 and will be the first of its kind issued by a provincial-level government in China. It marks a milestone in Guangdong's attempts to keep agricultural materials safe and supervised, from production, transportation and sales to their utilization, according to Cai Shugan, deputy director-general of the provincial agricultural department of Guangdong.

Cai said that the regulation is innovative in many aspects and will help to safeguard agricultural products made in the province.

He added that the regulation has specified the accountability and compensation system for producers, salespersons and users of agricultural materials.

"Whoever makes, sells or uses the materials will be held responsible for any incident arising from his or her part," he said.

The regulation will see pesticides that are unsuitable for agricultural production banned in the province. These included pesticides used specifically in the production of cotton and apples, since neither is typically grown in Guangdong.

The online sales of superb-toxic, high-toxic and high-residue pesticides are strictly prohibited for fear of safety incidents during transportation as well as for better implementing the accountability and compensation system. Conversely, online sales accounts and information about agricultural materials will be easily accessible online.

The province has steered clear of major safety incidents related to agricultural products for several years thanks to supervisory efforts, said Cai.

Plantation products passed 96.5 percent of inspections in 2015, while 99.3 percent of animal products were cleared, according to a statistics released by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Guangdong inspected 62,600 manufacturers and 2,700 batches of agricultural materials by sample in 2015, helping to identify 1,035 illegalities.

Guangdong has over 1,800 agricultural material manufacturers and more than 52,000 wholesale and retail outlets, official statistics indicate.

Approximately 40 million tons of agricultural materials are consumed in the province annually.

Cai Shugan (center), deputy director-general of Guangdong Agricultural Department, briefs the media. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]