By JOHN NWOKOCHA, Abuja

Despite initiatives to checkmate the influx of fake and contraband pesticides, the chemicals have continued to flood Nigerian markets, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono, has lamented.

He said the huge Nigerian market for agrochemicals has caused massive flooding of the market with counterfeit and contraband pesticide products.

The minister lamented that while agrochemicals are widely used in Nigeria, from seed dressing before planting to storage, marketing and distribution of grains, “the continuous use of these fake and contraband pesticide products has continued to pose serious dangers to both the farmers and the environment”.

Speaking at a multi-stakeholders workshop on the ProposedBill for the Establishment of the Nigerian Pesticides Council and Other Related Matters Connected Therewith 2020 held in Lagos, Thursday, Nanono noted that “ the continued absence of a regulatory framework capable of providing an all – inclusive and adequate control andmonitoring of the industry is unacceptable for the country”.

According to the minister, “The law will brazenly empower the ministry to sanitize the agrochemical industry through issuing appropriate license to the genuine pesticides manufacturers, importers, sellers and distributors while expanding the revenue base of the government and boosting investors’ confidence in the industry”.

However, he said the Ministry was determined to follow through with the enactment and subsequent signing into law, the proposed draft bill for the establishment of the Nigerian Pesticide Council. He said the bill will sanitize the Agrochemical industry from counterfeiters with fake and contraband pesticides products which had found its way into the Nigerian markets.

He stated: “So we are determined to follow through with the enactment and subsequent signing of the proposed bill before the National Assembly into law”.

He expressed satisfaction with the enactment of the National Fertilizer Quality Control Act, saying that the passage of the Pesticide bill into law will, “unbundle the huge potentials that abounds in the industry and strengthen its capacity to make responsible contribution to the economy”.

The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Ernest Umakhihe, urged the different sector players in the industry and associations, such as the CropLife and other relevant bodies to “imbibe appropriate internal mechanism as support towards addressing the general menace, adding that the Ministry has a dedicated cadre called Produce Officers for the management of agrochemical policies in the country”.

Chairman, House Committee on Agric Production and Services, Rt. Hon. Muntari Dandutse, said “the bill for legislation is to enable the society to obtain the benefit use of pesticides and protect unreasonable effects and prevention of human being, his environment, encourage the innovation of pesticides products”.

He assured that the legislature will ensure the speedy passage of the bill, stating that it is important to have a controlled mechanism to checkmate the industry.

Dr Ernest Umakhihe, who was represented by the Director, Farm Input Support Services Department (FISSD) in the Ministry, Engr Tunde Bello, in his welcome address said that the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals has generally been linked to poor productivity and massive economic Losses, especially due to resistance to someof the pesticides ; destruction of beneficial soul micro-organisms leading to reduced nutrient concentration in the soul and increased water and wind erosion; loss of economic aquatic animals caused by contamination of the ground and surface water”.

He said “the smallholder farmers who make up the majority of the country’s farming population lack the adequate knowledge on integrated pests management and effective agrochemical delivery systems required to make agrochemical applications more beneficial.”

Umakhihe urged the stakeholders to come up with a more robust bill that will bridge the gap currently existing in the regulation of the agrochemical industry in the interest of the country and for the benefit of the agricultural sector.

President, CropLife Nigeria noted that the ministry is “ being very pragmatic by taking the bold step of pushing for a pesticide bill to address once and for all the faking and adulteration of products, handling of crop production products by unauthorized persons, smuggling of substandard products into the Nigerian market, supply of substandard and fake productsby contractors to the ministry, thus shortchanging Nigerian farmers and sabotaging the efforts of the present Administration in ensuring food security in the country”.

News Expressgathered from a statement made available by Mrs Eno Olotu, Deputy Director of Information in the ministry, said that other stakeholders who spoke at the workshop include representatives from NAFDAC, NESREA and SON, called for the harmonization of all related regulations and policies in the sector in order to come up with a collective draft bill that when passed into law will be implemented not only in Nigeria but also at the regional level as Nigeria is known to drive the process at that level.