Expert warns on dangers of pesticides

This observation was made by a resource person, Professor Abiodun Ajayi, a Professor of Agricultural Entomology and Crop Protection, while speaking at a recent stakeholders meeting on Inventory of Agro-Chemicals in frontline states held in Sokoto.Professor Ajayi further observed that over two million cases of pesticides poisoning were reported worldwide with over 40,000 fatal cases. […]

This observation was made by a resource person, Professor Abiodun Ajayi, a Professor of Agricultural Entomology and Crop Protection, while speaking at a recent stakeholders meeting on Inventory of Agro-Chemicals in frontline states held in Sokoto.
Professor Ajayi further observed that over two million cases of pesticides poisoning were reported worldwide with over 40,000 fatal cases. He added that the collateral problem with the use of chemicals for pest control brought about a rethink by research scientists and the concept of integrated pest control or integrated pest management (IPM) was introduced.
He also noted that IPM as a pest management strategy focuses on long-term prevention or suppression of pest problems with minimum impact on human health and the environment among others.
IPM, he said, emphasises the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms.
He said the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) promotes IPM as the preferred approach to crop protection, considering it as a pillar of both sustainable intensification of crop production and pesticide risk reduction.
Speaking earlier, chairman of the occasion, who is also Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Jude Omorogbe, said the federal government’s efforts at transforming the agriculture sector had started yielding positive results.
Omorogbe stressed that the agriculture sector is now  getting its importance in the society, while experts in pest control are now passing the right information on how to handle pest materials.