Israel's farmers use vast quantities of pesticides – some of which are toxic – on some 3 million dunams of land, even near residential areas. The government has twice decided to take action to reduce the use of pesticides, but nothing has been done, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss writes in his annual report for 2011, published Tuesday. In his report, Lindenstrauss investigated how the Agriculture, Health, and Environmental Protection Ministries handled the use of pesticides and fertilizers, as well as agricultural waste disposal. The comptroller also looked into whether a cabinet decision from May 2003 to reduce the use of pesticides and another decision from May 2010 to outlaw 60 specific pesticides by 2012 had been implemented. According to Lindenstrauss' report, "the strategic plan prepared by the Agriculture Ministry did not set specific dates by which time the use of pesticides must be reduced. Moreover, it said, "by September 2011, not even one pesticide had been outlawed… the ministry employs three inspectors who oversee pesticide use, but did not grant them authority to enforce regulations…" Related stories: Agriculture Ministry forms new eco-agriculture dept Report shines unflattering light on MOD failures Artificial cobweb to protect crops from pests The report also said that while other Western countries conducted field surveys and published data on the amount of pesticides found, Israel had no organized information of that kind, and it had only been checked twice: In 1998, by the Central Bureau of Statistics, and in 2008 by a private company. The CBS survey ranked Israel No. 7 out of 31 countries in terms of the amount of toxic materials found in fields. According to the comptroller's report, both livestock and humans were being hurt by the near-unregulated use of toxic materials in agriculture. In 2005, a kibbutz dairy farmer sprayed 260 cows to keep flies away – 180 of which died. People, the report says, are moving closer to agricultural communities, and suffering more from shortness of breath, nausea, and poisoning, sometimes needing to be hospitalized. "Regulations from 2005 stipulating the distance between homes and areas to be sprayed have provided only a partial solution," the report reads. "In May 2011 the Agriculture Ministry submitted regulations on the matter." Other issues cited in the report: Excess fertilizer seeping into the groundwater pesticides sprayed in a field bordering organic farming land and the risk posed to the ecosystem by unregulated use of pesticides in agriculture. According to Lindenstrauss, the farmers themselves are also at risk and are not required to obtain a license for the use and storage of toxic materials. The report said that the Agriculture Ministry does conduct seminars for farmers on the subject, but they are not required to participate and attendance is usually low. The comptroller's report addressed additional issues pertaining to agriculture, such as the amount of government subsidies awarded to farmers, which according to the report is higher than allowed by law and exceeds the amount of grants awarded to development towns. Moreover, some of the grants were allotted to keep farmers from employing foreign laborers, but some farmers received the money and continued to employ foreign workers. The Environmental Protection Ministry said in response to the data on the amount of pesticides used in agriculture that it had sponsored the first survey in Israel measuring the quantity of pesticides used, in 1998. "The CBS is currently preparing an additional, thorough study intended to bring the numbers up to date. The study is due to be completed in the next few months." The ministry noted that the effectiveness of the materials was measures by the Agriculture Ministry. In response to the statement that pesticides were used in agriculture without licenses and without the farmers undergoing proper instruction, the Environmental Protection Ministry said "given the importance of the subject, work is currently under way to organize the use of pesticides, in collaboration with the Agriculture Ministry and a unit from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Regarding the comptroller's report that insufficient measures had been taken to ensure a safe distance between homes and farming areas, the ministry said that starting in 2005, new regulations regarding the use of spraying near homes had taken effect. The ministry said that INPA teams were operating in the field to reduce the problem. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter