Dr. Paul Orhii, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug and Administration and Control, has said that pesticides application to crops can pose health challenges.
Orhii made this known said when he spoke on the theme: “Safe and Responsible Use and Disposal of Pesticides,” at an awareness workshop for farmers and agrochemical dealers in Makurdi, Benue State on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the workshop was organised by NAFDAC in collaboration with West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme.
Represented by Dr. Sikilu Olowo, the Deputy Director of Agrochemical and Control, Orhii said pesticides could cause acute and delayed health effects in workers exposed to a variety of adverse health effects.
Some of the diseases, he said, ranged from simple irritation of the skin and eyes to effect on the nervous system, mimicking hormones which create reproductive problems and cancer.
He said: “All applicators must be sensitive to public concerns about pesticides use and apply materials only in a safe and judicious manner.
“The unethical disposal of pesticides to the environment is a threat to public health and the environment.”
Also, the NAFDAC Director in the state, Anikoh Ibrahim, said the essence of the workshop was to enlighten famers and agro-dealers on the proper usage of pesticides.
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council Director in the state, Nahan Saave, said the wrong application of pesticides was hampering the exportation of agricultural produce.
Saave said some agricultural produce did not meet the export standard required by the international community because of wrong application of pesticides.
The Benue Commissioner for Agriculture, James Anbua, represented by the Director Agricultural Services, Achiaku Nyiyongo, commended NAFDAC and WAAPP for the workshop.
The Head, Chemical Disposal Unit, NAFDAC, Dr. Anthony Hotton, who spoke on the topic: “Disposal of Expired Pesticides and Containers,” said that more than 500,000 tonnes of obsolete pesticides were accumulated globally in developing countries.
Hotton advised people not to dispose pesticides into drains or water to avoid contamination.
NAN.
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