Jochen Luckscheiter, the Director of Heinrich Boll Foundation in Nigeria says most registered pesticides in Nigeria have been withdrawn from European markets.
Luckscheiter made the assertion on Monday in Abuja at the launch of the pesticide Atlas Nigeria with the theme ‘Time for a Detox in Nigeria Agriculture’.
GFHnews reports that Pesticide Atlas is a comprehensive overview of facts and figures on global pesticide production and consumption, its impact on people, biodiversity, and the climate, and alternative solutions.
The aim of its release is to raise awareness, provide comprehensive information, and promote discourse around pesticide use in agriculture.
“More than half of all the pesticide products registered in Nigeria have been withdrawn from the European market or are heavily restricted due to, among other issues, their high toxicity.
“The high use of these toxic pesticides in Nigeria has negatively impacted export opportunities’’.
Luckscheiter said that although the German government has committed itself to create laws that will prohibit the export of pesticides banned in the EU due to their harmful effects, Nigerians in addition to stopping the import of these toxic substances deliberately work towards the reduction of their use.
“In June 2015, the European Union banned the import of dried beans and other Nigerian agricultural products due to high levels of pesticide residues considered dangerous to human health.
“Despite being banned in their home jurisdictions, European companies continue to export these hazardous pesticide products to Nigeria and other African countries, creating a double standard in pesticide trade.
“Alternatives to the high use of toxic pesticides exist. For example, agroecological cultivation practices, including more crop rotations and combinations, all these enable farmers to use less or no pesticides’’.
She called on Nigerians to chart a deliberate path towards an overall reduction in pesticide use.
“As one of the largest importers of pesticides on the African continent, Nigeria faces mounting human and environmental health as well as economic challenges due to their high use.
“Among other findings the Pesticide Atlas exposes that: The global pesticide market has almost doubled in the last 20 years. By 2023, the total value of all pesticides used is expected to reach nearly USD 130.7 billion.
“And Nigeria is one of the largest importers of pesticides in Africa by volume, spending approximately USD 384 million in 2018 according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
“The surveys have shown that up to 80 per cent of the most frequently used pesticides by small-scale farmers in Nigeria are Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs)’’.
She noted that pesticides are classified as highly hazardous if they cause serious or irreversible damage to health or the environment.
“They can cause cancer or genetic defects, impair fertility or harm unborn children. Women farmers are more vulnerable, especially to pesticides that are hormonally active or known to disrupt the endocrine system.
“About 385 million cases of pesticide poisoning occur worldwide every year. Pesticides also contaminate water via infiltration, surface runoff, and drift. They accumulate in the soil and exert adverse effects on soil life-sometimes for decades’’.
Also speaking, the Alliance for Action on Pesticide in Nigeria (AAPN), Prof Simon Irtwange, said Nigeria needs stricter pesticide regulations for the safety of Nigeria and its habitats.
“In particular, we need to end the import of pesticide that have been banned in regions with high safety standards.
“These products have left Nigerian farmers vulnerable to acute and chronic health effects and damage fertile soil as they accumulate.
