Some 640 tons of obsolete chemicals have been shipped out of the country in the second round of the waste disposal project, Ethiopia's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said Monday.

Biratu Oljira, pesticide prevention and disposal project manager with crop protection department of the ministry, told journalists that the disposal of the obsolete chemicals would be completed by September this year.

Meanwhile, he said the ministry has already allocated 6 million U.S. dollars for the prevention of the stockpile of obsolete chemicals.

He said the project would enable the country to secure up to 2. 5 million dollars from the Africa Stockpiles Program (ASP).

The ASP is an initiative of NGOs and intergovernmental organizations. It aims at clearing all obsolete pesticide stocks in Africa and to prevent further pesticide hazards to populations or environments.

Some 2,500 tons of obsolete chemicals had been shipped out of Ethiopia at a cost of over 6 million dollars in the first round of the waste disposal project, Biratu added.

Source: Xinhua