By Udesinanna Stephen
The National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has said based on reports there is a possibility that the European Union and United Kingdom were exporting banned Pesticides to Nigeria and other poor countries which are harmful to human.
This was revealed in a press statement obtained from the verified Twitter handle of NAFDAC, @NafdacAgency and signed by the Director General DG, of the Agency, Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye.
Adeyeye said “the dangers posed by pesticides are of immense concern to the Agency and there have been recent concerns from stakeholders such as the report of the study conducted by Heinrich Boll Foundation; a Non-Governmental Organization that claimed that 40% of pesticides used in Nigeria had been banned in the EU.
“There was also an alert received from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) cautioning on the possibility that the European Union and United Kingdom were exporting banned Neonicotinoid Pesticides to Nigeria and other poorer Countries.”
Following this, the DG said, NAFDAC intends to collaborate with research institutes in making findings and gathering scientific data about pesticides to support NAFDAC decisions and policies on it.
According to her, pesticide and agrochemical importers and manufacturers are to be advised to institute stewardship plans such as Post Marketing Surveillance and research in their companies.
