Farmers cautioned on safe use of pesticides

He made the call at a sensitisation workshop organised for farmers and stakeholders by NAFDAC in conjunction with West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme held in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, with the theme: “Safe and Responsible Use and Disposal of Pesticide.”The NAFDAC boss, said agriculture would continue to play a major role in the economy […]

He made the call at a sensitisation workshop organised for farmers and stakeholders by NAFDAC in conjunction with West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme held in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, with the theme: “Safe and Responsible Use and Disposal of Pesticide.”
The NAFDAC boss, said agriculture would continue to play a major role in the economy of Nigeria and West Africa, contributing more than 40 per cent to its GDP and providing income and employment to about 70 per cent of the region’s population.
He stressed the need for stakeholders to be concerned about the health of the farmers, saying: “Pesticides may cause acute and delayed health effects in workers who are exposed and can cause a variety of adverse health effect, ranging from simple irritation of the skin and the eyes.”
He said pesticides could also cause severe effects in the body and affect the nervous system, mimicry hormones, causing reproductive problems and cancer.
All applicators must therefore be sensitive to public concerns about pesticide use and apply materials only in a safe and judicious manner as unethical disposal of pesticides to the environment is a threat to public health, he added.
Some of the farmers whom attended the workshop said it was timely and that it afforded them the opportunity to know more about the dangers and adverse effect of misuse of pesticide.
The farmers commended NAFDAC and appealed to the agency to regulate the chemical market to guide against the importation and sales of fake and contraband chemicals into the country for the safety of farmers and other members of the public.