South China's island province of Hainan has earmarked 127 million yuan (US$16.8 million) to establish a monitoring and inspection system for its agriculture produces to ensure better quality.

The provincial agriculture department said Saturday the system includes a modern technology center, five quality inspection stations and other quality test facilities that will be used in 18 cities and counties in the province, an official with the department said.

The technology center will be responsible for monitoring agricultural ecology, issuing warnings of hazardous biological substances, inspecting fertilizer input, and monitoring quality of farm produce.

Hainan is a major tropical agriculture base in China, but it had only a handful of quality inspection labs that perform basic tests. Some of the more advanced quality tests had to be done in the Guangdong Province, the official said.

Once the monitoring and inspection system is in place, it will better monitor the production, processing and sales of its agriculture products in the province, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2007)