SRADev Nigeria performed a review and analysis on the situation of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) in Nigeria. It encompassed a thorough examination of existing literature, an analysis of national databases, and informant interviews with key stakeholders. These individuals included representatives from significant bodies like the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), experts in crop protection, and others.
The results and discoveries reveal high volumes of HHPs that Nigeria has imported between January 2017 and April 2022, as reported by NAFDAC. According to this data, the quantity of chlorpyrifos brought into Nigeria in the past five years exceeded 4 million liters and over 600 metric tonnes. The highest volume of chlorpyrifos imports, surpassing 1 million liters, was recorded in 2019. Chlorpyrifos has been banned in India and highly restricted in China. However, we discovered that Chlorpyrifos and other HHPs are still imported into Nigeria.
We also reported on issues with double standards, where HHPs banned in European countries are being shipped to African countries. In the course of the analysis, two European countries (Spain and Belgium) were found to manufacture and export banned HHPs such as glyphosate and carbosulfan. We emphasized that double standards must be discouraged among the European states, as chemicals not safe for use in the EU, are also unsafe in any another part of the world. Read more on the media
