Stakeholders Seek Regulation On Use Of Pesticides

By Aisha Adesanya

Pesticides though essential for modern farming, poses significant hazards on humans and the environment at large.

It is against this backdrop that stakeholders in the environmental sector are calling for legal provisions in the constitution to regulate the use of pesticides in the country.

This was their view at a training organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF for legal practitioners and human rights groups on hazards of pesticides and human rights in Abuja.

In his opening remarks the convener and Executive Director HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey stated that fundamental human rights of Nigerians to clean and healthy environment is under threat due to indiscriminate use of pesticides in the country.

According to him the training became necessary to serve as a platform for legal practitioners and human rights groups to galvanise ideas on the way forward towards protecting the rights of Nigerians on pesticide hazards in the country.

Nnimmo who decried the looming danger in the unregulated use of pesticides in the country, stressed the need to revive the nation’s agricultural extension service system such that farmers in local communities are equipped with the right knowledge on the use of these pesticides to address the menace.

He further stated that excessive pesticide residues in Nigeria’s food products had led to its rejection in the international market thereby reducing the country’s revenue generating opportunities.

Nimmmo also urged relevant stakeholders not to see the use of pesticides as a quick fix to food insecurity in the country.

In a paper presentation titled pesticide use and regulation in Nigeria: data and incidents, the coordinator alliance for action on pesticides in Nigeria, Donald Ikenna Ofoegbu explained that existing legislations and regulatory framework do not provide sufficient protection for Nigerians on pesticide hazards .

He therefore stressed the need for a detailed legal backing to bridge the existing legal lacuna in the use of pesticides to ensure effective use and regulation in the country.

Sharing the experiences of some farmworkers to amplify the voices of some victims, Reverend Father Maurice Kwairanga from the Justice Development and Peace Commission in Adamawa State noted that many lives have been lost to wrong handling of these pesticides.

Father Maurice who reiterated the need to regulate the high level of food poisoning through pesticides in the country tasked regulatory agencies to step up their games to protect Nigerians from these harmful chemicals.

He further called for the adoption of organic farming and the regulation of local food storage in the country.

In her presentation, on Pesticides, Food Safety and Human Rights, the Deputy Director Environmental Rights Action, ERA Mariann Orovwuje stated that food security was beyond making food accessible, affordable and available but involves ensuring that the food was safe for consumption.

She emphasized the need for Nigerians to have zero tolerance for the harmful food products being churned out due to the use of pesticides and join in the campaign against this huge threat to the existence of Nigerians.

Stakeholders at the event unanimously agreed that a legal framework was needed to regulate the use of pesticides, and the adoption of organic farming.

They also agreed that sensitising farmers, farmworkers, market women, and Nigerians at large on the inherent dangers in the use of pesticides was necessary to help them make informed decisions to protect their rights to live.

Edited By Grace Namiji