An environmental activist and Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, has advocated stricter regulations on the use of pesticides, saying “our right to a clean and healthy environment, a fundamental human right, is also under threat from the indiscriminate use of pesticides.”
This is as he called for development and adoption of alternative pest management methods, such as integrated pest management, biological pest control and use of bio-pesticides.
Bassey who took this position in his welcome address at HOMEF’s training for legal practitioners and rights groups held in Abuja, noted that excessive pesticide residue in “our food products currently affects our exports as these products are rightly rejected in international markets.
READ ALSO: Appeal Court Affirms Election Of Ibori’s Daughter
According to him, indiscriminate use of pesticides directly negates basic rights such as the right to a satisfactory environment as enshrined in article 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“The use of pesticides has dire consequences for our right to life and health. Many pesticides are highly hazardous and cause acute and chronic health problems when people are exposed to them.
” Pesticides have been linked to a wide range of health issues, including cancers, neurological disorders, reproductive problems, and diverse ways of poisoning of farmworkers,” Bassey added.
READ ALSO: FG Condemns US Travel Advice, Says It Can Create Panic, Affect Economy
While noting that pesticides can no longer be seen as a quick solution to agricultural challenges, the environmental activist called for an empowerment for agric workers with a view to imparting on them with knowledge and tools to protect themselves from pesticide exposure.
He said: “We need to urgently empower and revive our extension service system such that farmers in local communities are equipped with the right knowledge. The wider public must be informed of the highly hazardous pesticides, including the types, quantities, and locations.
“It is our duty to protect and preserve nature’s resources; to preserve our food culture and heritage. To do this, we must retrace our steps and recall every decision/permit that threaten our individual and collective wellbeing and that of the environment.”