National Programme Coordinator, Trade Network Initiative (TNI), Chris Kaka, on Tuesday, asserted that 65% of pesticides used by farmers in Nigeria are dangerous to human health, animals and the environment.
He said they contained active ingredients belonging to the group of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs).
Kaka spoke at the opening of a two-day Training and Strategic Planning Meeting on Pesticide Use and Regulation in Nigeria, themed: “Making the Advocacy Work,” which was convened by Alliance for Action on Pesticides in Nigeria (AAPN), in Abuja.
The Coordinator also noted that 40% of all the pesticide products registered in Nigeria had since been withdrawn from the European market or heavily restricted due to their hazardous contents.
He said the 40% represented 57 active ingredients in 402 products still in use in the country, regretting that no serious regulation was in place to check the arbitrary use of these products among farmers.
This, he said, informed the formation of the alliance to bring stakeholders together to share knowledge and engage government on how to address the challenge.
The coalition seeks to increase awareness on pesticide hazards, demands for improved regulation of the pesticides, and promote the introduction of more sustainable farm methods and food systems.
The coalition sought to increase awareness on pesticide hazards, demands for improved regulation of the pesticides, and promote the introduction of more sustainable farm methods and food systems.
To strengthen its advocacy, AAPN came together to organise a training to improve its members’ knowledge about pesticide use and regulation, to share experiences from their individual work, and to build synergy and explore new avenues for advocacy.
“Many farmers are not even aware of this danger, and we believe there is a need for awareness to be created around this,” Kaka said.
In her presentation, an eco-toxicologist, Ms Silke Bollmohr, stressed the need to always ensure less toxicant pesticides are brought to agriculture.
Bollmohr, who is a trainer in Risk Assessment of Pesticides, enumerated the effects of hazardous pesticides on human life, soil and water quality.
She noted that Nigerians are more exposed to these hazards because communities and residents are closer to farms than in the western world.
She urged farmers to always check information labels, saying that the labels contain vital information of chemical compositions of pesticides.
She also cautioned farmers against the use of the same herbicides, fungicides and insecticides over a long period, advising them on use of biopesticides in between. (NAN)
