However, NAFDAC has called for the support of stakeholders
to help eliminate harmful pesticides from the Nigerian markets.
40 per cent of pesticides used in Nigeria had been banned in
the European Union, according to a report quoted from the study conducted by
the Heinrich Boll Foundation.
The agency also expressed its worries over the toxicity
associated with the misuse and abuse of pesticides, saying it affects food
safety and food security.
The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye in a
statement signed by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola
disclosed that “The dangers posed by pesticides are of immense concern to the
agency and there have been recent concerns from stakeholders such as the report
of the study conducted by Heinrich Boll Foundation; a non-governmental
organisation that claimed that 40 per cent of pesticides used in Nigeria had
been banned in the EU.
“There was also an alert received from the Federal Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development cautioning on the possibility that the
European Union and the United Kingdom were exporting banned Neonicotinoid
Pesticides to Nigeria and other poorer countries. Emphasis was placed on
Chlorpyrifos and its variants due to their harmful effects on humans, animals,
beneficial insects, and the environment.
“NAFDAC’s mandate, as enshrined in the Constitution, is to
regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertisement,
distribution, sale, and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, detergent and others.
“This necessitated the review and analysis of the list of
registered pesticide and agrochemical active ingredients in the NAFDAC
Registered Product Automated Database vis-à-vis activities banned,
non-approved.”
The agency said the outcome of the review was shared with
stakeholders at a three-day virtual stakeholders’ engagement.
It further said the review meeting focused much on the
proposed phase-out and ban of the active ingredients.
“At the end of the meeting, it was agreed that pesticide and
agrochemical importers and manufacturers would be advised to institute
stewardship plans such as Post Marketing Surveillance and research in their
companies.
“NAFDAC would collaborate with research institutes in the
conduct of research and scientific data generation on pesticides to enable the
agency to make evidence-based decisions and policies. NAFDAC would also
intensify Post-Marketing Surveillance nationwide, adding that there would be
continual sensitization and education of relevant stakeholders on the safe and
responsible use of pesticides.
“NAFDAC would engage with other sister agencies like the
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Standard
Organisation of Nigeria.
“Other organisations the agency would engage with are the
National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency, Nigeria
Agricultural Quarantine Service,” it said.
It added that the engagement was to ensure synergy in the
regulation of pesticide and agrochemical products.