A new survey has found that about 80 per cent of pesticides used by women in some parts of Nigeria’s North-central region are highly toxic to humans and require additional regulation. In many instances, the products had been banned in Europe and other places.

The survey by Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria and Alliance for Action on Pesticide in Nigeria found that 80 per cent of the products are classified as Highly Hazardous Pesticides.

The survey, supported by the German green organisation, Heinrich Böll Foundation, was conducted in Nasarawa, Benue, Abuja and Plateau, and involved 107 women farmers.

The pesticides found are atrazine, butachlor, carbofuran, cypermethrin, dichlorvos (ddvp), endosulfan, glysulphate, imidacloprid, mancozeb, paraquat, profenofos and triazophos.

“The survey results among the interviewed women farmers show that over 80% of the pesticides products and their active ingredients in use belong to the category of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), and in many instances have lost approval in countries and regions with high safety standards such as the European Union (EU),” the report stated.

A similar report by AAPN in 2021 found that 40 per cent of all the pesticides used in Nigeria had been banned by the EU due to their high toxicity.

The new survey set out to ascertain the pest challenges that confront farmers, and to know the products they use to address the problem, as well as their knowledge of traditional nature-based pest control methods.

“94.2 per cent of the surveyed women farmers use synthetic chemical pesticides to manage pest issues in their farms. 5.8 per cent do not use any synthetic chemical pesticide products to tackle pest challenges,” it said further.

It found that 75 per cent of the women who used chemical pesticides experienced health challenges that they attributed to the pesticide use.

According to the report, some of the symptoms identified by the surveyed women were difficulty in breathing, dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, eye problems, skin rashes, catarrh, diarrhoea, and respiratory problems were among the most common health effects reported.

ALSO READ: Ooni Of Ife, Other Traditional Rulers Pray At RCCG’s Camp