Nigeria: Nafdac to Ban Unauthorised Agro-Chemical Dealers

Lagos — The National Agency For Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC) plans to ban unauthorised dealers from selling agro-chemical products as part of efforts to ensure safe and responsible use of the products in the country.

Dr Paul Orhii, NAFDAC Director-General, made the announcement on in Abuja at the opening of a two-day training workshop for more than 50 agro-chemical dealers from the North-Central Zone on application of crop protection products.

The training was jointly organised by the International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC), the National Food Reserve Agency and NAFDAC.

Orhii said that after the training and once the dealers had developed the relevant capabilities, government would make it mandatory for only certified dealers to handle agro-chemicals.

He said the training had become imperative because the hazardous effects of chemicals on Nigerians had reached "an unacceptable threshold" in recent times.

Orhii said recent cases of food poisoning as well as the consequence of careless and unprofessional handling of chemicals had further lent credence to NAFDACs effort to stem the trend.

He said investigations had revealed that most farmers and grain merchants were ignorant of the appropriate ways of handling and using chemicals, especially pesticides.

"The hazardous nature of chemicals and their inherent toxicity and ability to cause harm makes it mandatory that we ensure the safety of the users and the environment," he added.

Mr. Scott Wallace, IFDCs Country Representative, said more than 95 per cent of agro dealers in the country had no training and were engaged in the misuse of chemicals and pesticides.

He said the training, held under the Nigeria Agro Input Dealer Support (NADS) project, was organised for agro dealers in 11 states in four geo-political zones of the country.

Wallace explained that the training was aimed at assisting more than 1,400 agro dealers to achieve increased agricultural productivity and wellbeing of more than one million small-holder farmers.

He said the Alliance For Green Revolution In Africa (AGRA) as well as Bill Gate and Rockefeller Foundations had supported IFDC with 3.5 million dollars to work, train and