The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department (AFCD) today said it has referred to Police and Customs the details of cases concerning the suspected sale of non-self-produced agricultural products by individual farm stalls during FarmFest.

The AFCD emphasised that it will not tolerate any acts that deceive consumers and will deal with any such violations seriously as it is assisting law enforcement agencies in their investigations.

Furthermore, the AFCD will disqualify the farms concerned from participating in the upcoming FarmFest, and is considering a permanent ban on non-compliant farmers from taking part in all future promotional activities organised by the department.

To prevent similar incidents from recurring, the AFCD is reviewing optimising the event’s contract terms, including introducing heavy penalties for breaches of contract and a compensation mechanism for claiming reputational damage.

It will also require local agricultural organisations and associations to remind their members to ensure compliance in the sale of their products.

The AFCD explained that all farmers and fishermen taking part in FarmFest must pass a qualification assessment in advance, including submitting detailed information on the agricultural and fisheries products intended for sale.

Prior to FarmFest, AFCD officers will inspect all participating local farms to record the varieties and quantities of the produce in detail, to ensure that the products sold during the event are produced by the farms themselves.

On January 10, the second day of FarmFest, AFCD officers ordered seven stalls suspected of irregularities to cease operation immediately. It took action against another suspicious stall the next day.