Mr Jochen Luckscheiter, the Director of Heinrich Boll Foundation Nigeria, had called on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to review the registration of chemical companies registered for the supply of pesticides as half of the ones used in Nigeria have been banned in Europe.

NAFDAC was established by Decree 15 of 1993 to regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, chemicals, medical devices and packaged water (known as regulated products).

Mr. Luckscheiter, made the call at a Two-Day Engagement Workshop of Social Media Influencers/Journalists on the Nigeria Pesticide Atlas at Agro forestry Project farm in Kwali, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

He said the type and high dose of pesticides used in the country is part of the reasons Nigerian agro products are rejected in the international markets.

The director said the essence of the workshop was to increase public awareness on the impact of high use of toxic pesticides by farmers in the agricultural sector.

He said pesticides were designed to prevent yield losses in the farming system, but it also gives rise to new problems on health and soil degradation which was harmful to ecosystem.

“The idea is to reduce the use of pesticides and farm more relying on organic input as the use of pesticides over the years in Nigeria has not necessarily increased productivity.

“You can increase crop productivity without using pesticides and artificial fertiliser.

“There is lots of knowledge out there that doesn’t rely on artificial input to increase productivity.

“NAFDAC should review the registration as more than half registered pesticide in Nigeria has been faced out in Europe because the chemical contents are too high,” he said.

According to him, a significant number of pesticides are no longer authorized or are banned in the European Union (EU) due to their harmful effects on health and the ecosystem.

However, he cautioned farmers on the safe use of pesticides, stressing that it was highly dangerous to health, though it was aimed at empowering workers on farm production while in active service.

The Executive Director, Chen Education and Development Empowerment (CEDE), Anaele Cynthia, said there was the need to enlighten Nigerians on the dangerous effect of hazardous pesticides imported into the country.

Cynthia said the toxic chemical contents in pesticides had increased from four to 40 per cent with adverse effects on the soil and environment.

According to her, there is the need to enact stiffer laws to prohibit use of toxic and hazardous pesticides by farmers to ensure a healthy living and safer farming system in the country.

She stressed the need for the government and stakeholders to be concerned about the health of farmers, saying, “Pesticides may cause acute and a variety of adverse health effects.”

She said that the workshop was aimed at sensitizing participants on the need to draw the public’s attention to toxic pesticides and what could be done to regulate pesticides and alternative usage.

Also, Mr Samuel Robert-Kwasari, the Chief Executive/Chief Farmer, Be The Help Foundation Agro forestry Project, said there was the need to stop the use of pesticides and revert to the traditional system of farming.

Robert-Kwasari said as farmers struggle to fight the pests, it has emerged that some pesticides are not effective, while other crops suffer adverse effects and soil degradation on the farm.

He said that agriculturalists were also being asked not to spray during a high wind as the chemicals might blow on the person carrying out the spraying. (Daily Independent)