Today, Tuesday, December 3, 2024, as we observe the International Day of No Pesticides Use, it is crucial to highlight the urgent need for caution and action regarding pesticide use globally, particularly in Nigeria. This day serves as a reminder of the potential dangers posed by pesticides and calls for a halt in their trade and application. It is also an opportunity to urge the European Union (EU) to address its double standards in pesticide regulation and to call upon the Nigerian government to take decisive measures to reduce pesticide usage.
Today, many are not just breathing toxic pesticides in fields, stores, schools and office, we are eating and polluting our environment – water, soil and air. Trend and practices, suggest that we have them in our blood, and they are not making us any healthy.
Pesticides are used in agriculture, for disease vector control and in domestic and municipal settings for the control of pests such as rodents, insects, fungi and weeds. However, the continuing use of hazardous pesticides presents major public health and environmental issues of global concern. People have a right to choose the type of chemicals they want to expose themselves, their family, and their children to, and nobody is allowed the right to deprive anyone of all the necessary information needed to enable them to make that individual choice.
Users can make better decisions about which products to use or whether to use pesticides by being aware of the risks associated with them. The three factors that determine the likelihood of pesticide related biodiversity loss and health problems are – (1) exposure level, (2) pesticide toxicity, and (3) access to comprehensive information.
On exposure level, over 94% of farmers use chemical pesticides in Nigeria, over 80% of these pesticides are Highly Hazadious Pesticides (HHPs), sold in open markets and villages – by anyone and to anyone. This excludes the number of grain and food sellers who use these pesticides for storage and preservation. Over 85% of farmers who use and apply these pesticides do not use Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) nor do they know how to apply them properly (this excludes those that are in the fumigation business for offices, schools, homes, gardens and hotels).
In 2018, over 270 people in a community in Benue state died because of pesticide – Endosulphan in their community river. Most HHPs are Persistent pesticides, meaning they can be in the environment for months and years (up to 10 years) seeping into ground water and plants. The high exposure rate of the population to pesticide evidenced by the continued open sales of these poisonous chemicals in open spaces, accounts to the increasing suicide rates in Nigeria.
To prevent suicide and self-harm, the World Health Organisation WHO’s LIVE initiative recommends amongst others, stringent measures to limit access to the means of suicide (e.g. pesticides, firearms, certain medications). According to a 2022 study on media reports on suicide in Nigeria, the commonest method used for suicide is pesticide ingestion (56.8%) followed by hanging (27.1%).
Nigeria imports approximately 147,446 tonnes of pesticides annually, making it one of the largest importers in Africa. Historically, pesticide application was estimated at 125,000 to 130,000 metric tons per year as of 1998. A survey indicated that 75% of women farmers experienced health issues related to pesticide use, including respiratory problems and skin rashes.
On the toxicity level, a recent report by the Alliance for Action on Pesticides in Nigeria (AAPN) a loose alliance of over 80 CSOs, farmers, researchers and Academia in Nigeria shows that of the 30 common pesticide active ingredients reviewed in Nigeria in 2023, 25 are categorised as Highly Hazadious Pesticides (83.3%), three are categorised as Moderately Hazardous Pesticides, one falls under the category of Slightly Hazardous Pesticide.
Scary but very true, the Dossier shows that 60% of the pesticide active ingredients in products sold and used in Nigeria are cancer-causing (60%), 73% of them cause endocrine disruption, 63% are immunotoxins, 60% will cause hard to the brain function – neurotoxic, and 60% toxic to the reproductive system.
The increasing new cases of cancer and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) serve as evidence to these truths. These chemicals are in fruits, vegetables and grains – we eat them; while over 70% of our food exports are rejected in Europe for many reasons including the presence of these toxic pesticides, many of which are already banned in the Europe.
More than 58% of registered pesticides in Nigeria contain active ingredients that are banned in the European Union. This includes hazardous substances like chlorpyrifos and Paraquat.
On access to information, farmers are constantly blamed for pesticide hazards, even when the manufacturers and marketers of these toxic pesticides refuse to inform the famers and consumers of the full risk and dangers associated with their products (just as their counterparts in the tobacco industry now do). Hypocritically, most of the companies that have the patents to producing these toxic pesticides are in Europe – but the European law permits these companies to continue the production and export of the toxic substances to poor developing countries where they know hospital do not work, regulation to ensure some safety measures are lax, market practices also unregulated and national political integrity questionable.
Today, as we mark the International Day of No Pesticides Use, we must reflect on the grave implications of pesticide use on public health, the environment, and sustainable agriculture. This day reminds us of the urgent need to address the unchecked proliferation of pesticides, especially in countries like Nigeria, where regulatory frameworks are either weak or poorly enforced. It is also an opportunity to amplify calls for global accountability, including urging the European Union (EU) to end its double standards in pesticide. A 2022 report by Public Eye revealed that European companies exported 81,000 tons of pesticides containing hazardous chemicals to developing nations, including Nigeria, in a single year.
The EU’s stance undermines its commitments to human rights and environmental sustainability. If these pesticides are unfit for European farms, they should not find their way into Nigerian markets. This double standard has been widely criticised as a clear violation of human rights and environmental justice principles. If these pesticides are deemed unsafe for use in Europe, why should they find their way into Nigerian farms and markets?
Nigeria’s government must take decisive action to address this crisis by strengthening regulatory frameworks to ensure that all pesticides entering the country meet international safety standards and are properly registered. It should also invest in and promote sustainable agricultural practices, such as integrated pest management and agroecology, to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides. Capacity building is essential, with efforts focused on training farmers and agricultural workers in the safe handling, application, and use of pesticide alternatives. Furthermore, immediate steps must be taken to halt the importation and distribution of banned or hazardous pesticides.
As we mark the International Day of No Pesticide Use, we must reaffirm our commitment to creating a safer, healthier, and more sustainable agricultural system, not just in Nigeria, but globally. A future free from the toxic burden of hazardous pesticides is achievable, but it requires collective action – from global powers like the EU to grassroots movements led by organisations such as AAPN.
Let this day serve as a reminder that the health of our people and the planet must never be compromised or traded. Together, we can end the double standards and build a food system that prioritises life over profit.
By Donald Ikenna Ofoegbu, programme manager of the Henrich Boell Stiftung Nigeria, and a coordinator of the Alliance for Action on Pesticide in Nigeria (AAPN)
