NIGERIA AND INTERNATIONAL DAY OF "NO PESTICIDE USE"
NIGERIA AND INTERNATIONAL DAY OF "NO PESTICIDE USE"
Every 3rd of December, memory of the 1984 Bhopal chemical disaster in India which killed thousands and injured hundred of thousands of innocent people will always linger on in memory. It's a tragic disaster of how deadly a pesticide could harm a community sublimally or otherwise.
Though I haven't heard or sighted any move in my blessed country, Nigeria to commemorate this day, and to proactively motivate rural and cities dwellers to enjoy the gift of mother earth; vast abundant of arable lands coupled with natural tendency towards traditional farming as against the use of pesticides by rural farmers. This should be an enviable move towards a future where communities do not have to rely and suffer from exposure to dangerous chemicals and highly hazardous pesticides.
Studies have consistently indicated that pesticide poisoning has long been a problem in developing countries, while experts have revealed that the problem of international pesticide use has greater dimensions than most public health and public policy recognize.
Agroecological is definitely a soft laden approach that need intensification among Nigerian small scale farmers from my experiences. Meanwhile, advancing awareness and education are one of the suitable alternative to halting HHP. Let me add that there is high possible use of pesticide indiscriminately, giving way to HHPs usage due to porous food system, lack of food safety bill, unverifiable data and smuggling
I envy other nations, including Africa that has populated radio stations via talk show, took giant strides in empowering their people, especially rural communities on the dangers of Highly Hazardous Pesticides,HHP.
I congratulate PAN for working round the clock to keep citizens of the world inform, educated and sensitizing all to advance policy in combating this 'circle of poison' in the food chain. 430 organizations and still counting from 106 countries have joined PAN International to herald substitution with ecosystem-based alternatives.
The Asian countries have already set aside the international day to project impacts of pesticides on children’s intelligence in various countries including Cambodia, China, India, Lao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam through the leadership of PANAP and partners with special focus on the “terrible twenty” list of HHPs that are particularly hazardous to children’s health.
Member groups in the continent of America and Europe are not left behind; Chile is focusing on informing health professionals about the hazards of HHP use, as well as on lobbying their government on taking action on HHPs, while America has restricted the use of HHPs near schools and other places where children live, learn and play. Citizen’s groups in several US states are campaigning to regulate pesticide use near schools.
HHPs are pesticides that have high potential to cause illness, injury or death to humans and animals or damage to the environment. These include pesticides that are acutely toxic to humans or cancinogenic, reproductive toxicants, disrupt the hormone system, cause neurological harm or developmental toxicity in humans. It could also includes pesticides that harm pollinators, or toxic to aquatic organisms.
Let stand with the rest of the world to lend our voice to see that PAN's goal to ensuring that the ban of HHPs remains high on the list of government priorities everywhere.
Every 3rd of December, memory of the 1984 Bhopal chemical disaster in India which killed thousands and injured hundred of thousands of innocent people will always linger on in memory. It's a tragic disaster of how deadly a pesticide could harm a community sublimally or otherwise.
Though I haven't heard or sighted any move in my blessed country, Nigeria to commemorate this day, and to proactively motivate rural and cities dwellers to enjoy the gift of mother earth; vast abundant of arable lands coupled with natural tendency towards traditional farming as against the use of pesticides by rural farmers. This should be an enviable move towards a future where communities do not have to rely and suffer from exposure to dangerous chemicals and highly hazardous pesticides.
Studies have consistently indicated that pesticide poisoning has long been a problem in developing countries, while experts have revealed that the problem of international pesticide use has greater dimensions than most public health and public policy recognize.
Agroecological is definitely a soft laden approach that need intensification among Nigerian small scale farmers from my experiences. Meanwhile, advancing awareness and education are one of the suitable alternative to halting HHP. Let me add that there is high possible use of pesticide indiscriminately, giving way to HHPs usage due to porous food system, lack of food safety bill, unverifiable data and smuggling
I envy other nations, including Africa that has populated radio stations via talk show, took giant strides in empowering their people, especially rural communities on the dangers of Highly Hazardous Pesticides,HHP.
I congratulate PAN for working round the clock to keep citizens of the world inform, educated and sensitizing all to advance policy in combating this 'circle of poison' in the food chain. 430 organizations and still counting from 106 countries have joined PAN International to herald substitution with ecosystem-based alternatives.
The Asian countries have already set aside the international day to project impacts of pesticides on children’s intelligence in various countries including Cambodia, China, India, Lao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam through the leadership of PANAP and partners with special focus on the “terrible twenty” list of HHPs that are particularly hazardous to children’s health.
Member groups in the continent of America and Europe are not left behind; Chile is focusing on informing health professionals about the hazards of HHP use, as well as on lobbying their government on taking action on HHPs, while America has restricted the use of HHPs near schools and other places where children live, learn and play. Citizen’s groups in several US states are campaigning to regulate pesticide use near schools.
HHPs are pesticides that have high potential to cause illness, injury or death to humans and animals or damage to the environment. These include pesticides that are acutely toxic to humans or cancinogenic, reproductive toxicants, disrupt the hormone system, cause neurological harm or developmental toxicity in humans. It could also includes pesticides that harm pollinators, or toxic to aquatic organisms.
Let stand with the rest of the world to lend our voice to see that PAN's goal to ensuring that the ban of HHPs remains high on the list of government priorities everywhere.
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