EDITORIAL: Go for alternatives to pesticides TO saVe lives

Pesticides—the substances used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals—are useful in agriculture. However, properly regulating them has proven to be highly controversial in Africa.

The Arusha-based Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TPRI) says: “It is technically and politically intricate issue to enforce tough regulations or not. Often, international donors, industry players and environmental activists try to influence pesticide legislation.”

The regulatory body says further that, with weak control systems, smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups such as women and children continue to be exposed to the residues of deadly chemicals.

Experts say pesticides can be found in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. These pesticides are the only toxic substances released intentionally into our environment to kill unwanted living things like weeds (herbicides), insects (insecticides), fungi (fungicides) and rodents (rodenticides).

Therefore, when there are weak regulatory controls, then the harm to human beings and the environment can be huge. One of the direct effects is the increased incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in many African countries.

One of the key government tasks is protecting people and the national interest. If the people have to have their wellbeing protected, then governments must re-think the use of pesticides.

An important decision would be going for safer alternatives to pesticides. Experts suggest how to tackle grasshoppers by simply spraying garlic oil, or planting bitter herbs like calendula, horehound or cilantro; fighting Japanese beetles by trying chives, garlic, rue,and catnip; and, controlling mice by using mint plants, especially peppermint plants.

Natural pesticides are defined as those made by other organisms, usually for their own defence, or are derived from a natural source such as a mineral or plant. They warn that, while some natural pesticides are highly toxic, most are actually much safer and more eco-friendly than conventional pesticides.

Africa must go for indigenous knowledge in tackling insects and organisms that are harmful to farming and animal husbandry.