The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) seeks the cooperation of stakeholders and the general public to keep the country free of dangerous pesticides. Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of the Agency, said this in a statement issued to journalists by its resident media adviser Orsayo Akintra in Abuja on Sunday.
She said there is concern about toxicity related to the misuse and abuse of pesticides as it affects food safety and food security.
Adeyeye said the hazards posed by pesticides are of great concern to authorities. Stakeholders have also recently expressed concerns about the situation.
According to her –
“The report of the study conducted by Heinrich Boll Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, claimed that 40 per cent 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, cautioning on the possibility that the European Union and United Kingdom were exporting banned neonicotinoid pesticides to Nigeria and other poorer countries.
“Emphasis was placed on chlorpyrifos and its variants. This is due to their harmful effects on humans, animals, beneficial insects, and the environment. NAFDAC’s mandate was established by Act Cap N1 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. Its responsibility is to regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertisement, distribution, and sale of products. As well as the use of food, drugs, cosmetics, detergent and others.
“This necessitated the review and analysis of the list of registered pesticide and agrochemical active ingredients in the NAFDAC Registered Product Automated Database vis-à-vis actives banned, non-approved. The outcome of the review was shared with stakeholders at a three-day virtual stakeholders’ engagement held on November 22, 24 and 29, 2022,” she stressed.
Adeyeye said the agency’s core function is protecting the health of the nation. Basically, Nigerians are of great importance to the agency.
cc: Punch Ng
