Be careful how you store grains with pesticides – NSPRI

The Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) has revealed that inappropriate usage of pesticides in storing grains has affected the acceptability of Nigerian grains in the global market, and as such, there is a need for appropriate application of pesticides in storing grains.

This was disclosed by an NSPRI zonal coordinator, Dr Eunice Bamishaiye during a one-day sensitisation workshop on appropriate pesticides handling for traders of the Dawanau International Grains Market, Kano.

According to her, though pesticides have proven to be indispensable tools in post-harvest losses by combating damage from pests, its frequent usage, as well as over-use, constitutes serious factors of exposure and health risks.

She said, “As a result of continuous wrong application of pesticides on farm produce, there have been increasing cases of food poisoning, leading to deaths and diseases that have raised concerns among regulators and stakeholders, and as such, there is a need for grain merchants to be educated on appropriate handling of pesticides to save lives and restore international confidence on Nigerian grains.”

In his address, the chairman of Dawanau International Grain Market, Alhaji Sani Ahmad Kwa, described the workshop as timely because of ongoing harvests. He added that the knowledge acquired would go a long way in changing the way merchants were storing grains.