NAFDAC intensifies campaign on safe use of agrochemicals

NAFDAC, in collaboration with Croplife Nigeria, took the campaign to Yola, Adamawa state last week, where they told participants in a workshop that, “the hazardous nature of chemicals and their inherent toxidity and ability to cause harm makes it mandatory that we ensure the safety of the user, our populace and environment.”

In a statement made available to Sunday Trust in Abuja, the Director General of the Agency, Dr Paul Orhii, in his address at the workshop, said that ,“food poisoning arising from the consumption of grains and meals produced from grains such as moi-moi and kunu is a serious health hazard which must be addressed in order to stop it from becoming a public menace.”

He stressed that toxidity of chemicals could be acute and chronic ranging from minor discomfort to cancer, endocrine disruption, organic disorders and other neurological effects like numbness and weakness of arms, legs, feet or hands, memory loss and loss of concentration.

He added that reproductive health effects such as alterations in sexual behaviour, fertility and pregnancy would occur, with organic disorders such as disruption of activity of organs in the body like kidney, liver, blood or digestive tract also likely to be side effects of food poisoning.

Dr Orhii cautioned the participants that while handling agrochemicals and pesticides, they should ensure that they wear protective clothing and empty containers be disposed according to specified international standards.

He emphasised that seeds treated with chemicals were to be preserved until the next planting season whereas the seeds for consumption require short term storage and should be preserved with different types of agrochemicals. “Seeds preserved for planting should therefore not be eaten or sold for consumption,” he warned.

He also said that farmers and grain merchants should desist from using banned toxic agrochemicals such as gammallin, while stressing that pesticides should not be used for fishing.