The Director, Heinrich Boll Foundation Nigeria, Mr Jochen Luckscheiter, has urged farmers to exercise caution when administering pesticides to their crops for healthy living and to help save the environment.
Luckscheiter, made the call during a two-days Engagement of Social Media Influencers/Journalists on the Nigeria Pesticide Atlas at agroforestry Project farm in Kwali, FCT.
The Director said the essence of the workshop is to increase public awareness on the impact of the high use of toxic pesticides by farmers in the Agricultural sector.
He said Pesticides were designed to prevent yield losses in the farming system, but also gives rise to new problems on health and soil degradation which is harmful to the ecosystem.
“The idea is to reduce the use of pesticides and farm more relying on organic input as the use of pesticides over the years in Nigeria has not necesarily increased productivity.
“You can increase the productivity of a crop without using pesticides and artificial fertiliser and there is alot of knowledge out there that doesn’t rely on artificial input to Increase productivity,” he said.
According to him, a significant number of pesticides are no longer authorised or are banned in the EU due to their harmful effects on health and the ecosystem.
However, he cautioned farmers on the safe use of pesticides as it was highly dangerous to health although it was aimed at empowering workers on farm production while in active service.
The Executive Director, Chen Education and Development Empowerment (CEDE) Anaele Cynthia, said there was need to enlighten Nigerians on the dangerous effect of hazardous pesticides imported in the country.
Cynthia said the toxic chemical contents in pesticides has increased from four to fourty per cent with adverse effects to the soil and the environment.
According to her, there was need to enact stiffer laws to prohibit the use of toxic and hazardous pesticides by farmers to ensure healthy living and safer farming system in the country.
She stressed the need for the government and stakeholders to be concerned about the health of the farmers, saying, “Pesticides may cause acute and variety of adverse health effects.”
She explained that the workshop was aimed at sensitising the participants on the need to draw the public’s attention to toxic pesticides and what could be done to regulate pesticides and alternative usage.
The Chief Executive/Chief Farmer, Be The Help Foundation Agroforestry Project, Mr Samuel Robert-Kwasari, said there was need to stop the use of pesticides and revert back to the traditional system of farming.
He said as farmers struggle to fight the pests, it has emerged that some pesticides are not effective, while other crops suffer adverse effects and soil degradation on the farm.
Robert-Kwasari, said Agriculturalists are also being asked not to spray during a high wind as the chemicals may blow on the person carrying out the spraying.