Nigeria keeps getting slapped with an export ban from the EU because farmers there keep dumping banned pesticides on their beans, and the country is bleeding somewhere between $362 million and $363 million every year in lost foreign exchange. Muhammad Rili from the Kaduna Agricultural Development Agency said at a summit in Lagos that Nigerian growers are using chemicals like Dichlorvos that have been illegal in Europe since 2006, and the EU first blocked dried bean exports back in 2015 after finding residue levels way above safe limits.
The summit dropped some rough stats showing that developing countries only use a quarter of global pesticides but see 99 percent of poisoning deaths among farmers. The World Health Organization said 385 million farmers got hit with acute poisoning in 2019, with most cases happening in Asia and Africa. Three-quarters of smallholder women farmers reported breathing problems, dizziness, and skin issues from pesticide exposure.
Stakeholders want the government to pump more money into extension services and climate-resilient farming, preserve indigenous seeds through community seed banks across states, and shift budget control from the presidency to the agriculture and environment ministries for better coordination.
The summit dropped some rough stats showing that developing countries only use a quarter of global pesticides but see 99 percent of poisoning deaths among farmers. The World Health Organization said 385 million farmers got hit with acute poisoning in 2019, with most cases happening in Asia and Africa. Three-quarters of smallholder women farmers reported breathing problems, dizziness, and skin issues from pesticide exposure.
Stakeholders want the government to pump more money into extension services and climate-resilient farming, preserve indigenous seeds through community seed banks across states, and shift budget control from the presidency to the agriculture and environment ministries for better coordination.
