NAFDAC commends IITA for training 659 spray service providers

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has commended the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) led cassava weed management project for training spray service providers at the grass root level on the application and safe use of herbicides in Abia, Benue, Ogun and Oyo states.

The training was conducted for about 659 spray service providers to build their capacities on the safe use and application of herbicides and pesticides.

In a statement made available to BusinessDay, Emmanuel Anga, assistant director, NAFDAC-Benue State, noted that the application of herbicides with disregard to standards and safety was becoming worrisome while commending IITA for the training, emphasizing that it would correct the current abuse of herbicides use in the country.

Anga, while underlining the need for herbicides use in agriculture, said that improving cassava yield could be easily achieved with the application of herbicides.

However, he added that the application of herbicides must be consistent with the manufacturers’ recommendation in order not to undermine the health of applicators and destroy the environment.

During the training, which had both practical and theoretical sessions, participants were taught safety and correct use of herbicides. There was also a practical session on calibration using knapsack sprayers.

A breakdown of trained participants across states showed that Abia had 105 participants, Benue had 101 participants, Ogun had 122 participants, and Oyo had 331 participants.
Pharm L. J. Halim, assistant director, NAFDAC in Ogun State, described the training as a step in the right direction. She commended IITA for organising the training, stressing that it would raise farmers’ consciousness on safe use of herbicides.

“Most of us spray herbicides without personal protective equipment and sometimes we use herbicides’ containers for storing water or cooking oil. Through this training, we have discovered that these are wrong practices because empty containers of herbicides contaminate either the water or cooking oil which affect our health,” said Emmanuel Tur a farmer who was at the training.

“If I go home, I will tell my wife and other members of the community to properly dispose empty containers of herbicides,” Tur added.

Rachel Olanipekun also a farmer said the training demonstrated the must haves of any spray service provider.

“We have learnt how to protect ourselves and I thank IITA for training us. This training is an eye opener to all of us,” Olanipekun said.

Across the major cassava growing areas in Nigeria, the use of herbicides is growing with some states having up to 90 percent of farmers using herbicides, according to a survey from IITA. The rising use of herbicides is driven by inadequate personnel for manual labour.

“The switch to herbicides demands that farmers need training to effectively apply the products,” said Friday Ekeleme, principal investigator, IITA-CWMP.

“What the IITA-CWMP has set out to do is to promote integrated weed management options, combining mechanical, agronomy, and chemical weed control so that farmers are able to control weeds in a sustainable manner,” said Ekeleme.
 
Josephine Okojie