“This is not simply a case of good intentions gone wrong. This is a matter of national public safety,”
By Abdulrahman Aliagan, Abuja
At a high-level media briefing held on Wednesday, August 7, 2025, at Belmont Hotel, Abuja, agricultural experts, public health advocates, and environmental stakeholders sounded an urgent alarm that Nigeria is awash with Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), many of which are banned in other countries, yet are freely distributed to unsuspecting farmers under the guise of agricultural support. The event, convened by the Agroecology and Pesticide Network (AAPN) and co-signed by Professor Simon Irtwange and legal advocate Barrister Oreoluwa Adelakun, revealed that more than 65 percent of the active ingredients in pesticides used in Nigeria are considered highly hazardous. Although outlawed in the European Union, United States, and parts of Asia, these chemicals remain staples in Nigerian farming, facilitated through constituency projects, NGO donations, and philanthropic initiatives.
From lawmakers to farmer cooperatives, numerous actors, including well-known agricultural intervention programs, have been implicated in the distribution of toxic chemicals. “This is not simply a case of good intentions gone wrong. This is a matter of national public safety,” the statement declared. Organizations such as WOFAN, ThriveAgric, Nuru Nigeria, and the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme, along with political party palliatives and trade association handouts, were cited as distribution channels that, often unknowingly, supply products linked to acute poisoning, cancers, neurological damage, environmental degradation, and even trade bans.
Statistics presented at the briefing painted a grim picture. Nigeria applies about 23,400 metric tons of pesticides annually, with over 80 percent of those distributed to smallholder farmers already banned or phased out in Europe and America. The country loses an estimated $362.5 million each year due to the European Union’s ban on Nigerian produce such as beans, citing excessive pesticide residues. In fact, 76 percent of Nigeria’s agricultural exports to the EU are rejected on safety grounds. The human toll is also alarming, with up to 75 percent of women farmers in rural communities reporting health problems linked to pesticide use, ranging from respiratory illnesses and skin rashes to more chronic conditions like endocrine disruption, immune system impairment, reproductive disorders, and various cancers. One of the most tragic incidents occurred in Benue State in 2020, when pesticide contamination of a community river caused the death of over 270 people.
The damage extends beyond human health to Nigeria’s environment and economy. Soil fertility is declining, water bodies are polluted, pollinators and aquatic life are disappearing, and rural food and water supplies are increasingly contaminated. “We are literally killing the environment that feeds us,” warned the stakeholders. Criticism was particularly sharp towards the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for what was described as “regulatory silence,” with accusations that these agencies have failed to consistently enforce bans, monitor sales, or warn the public about dangerous products.
Adding to the crisis is the unchecked online sale of banned pesticides. With just a few clicks, farmers — and even teenagers — can purchase some of the most toxic chemicals in the world, often without safety labels or instructions. These products are openly listed on Nigerian e-commerce platforms, and the AAPN has called for nationwide surveillance, tighter regulations for online marketplaces, severe penalties for violators, and public disclosure of enforcement actions.
Stakeholders insisted that the days of unchecked benevolence in agricultural support must end. They stressed that any agricultural input distribution, whether from a political office or an NGO grant, must meet strict legal and safety standards. They emphasized the need for safe and approved inputs, transparency in disclosing products distributed, proper farmer training in local languages, traceability of distribution, and active monitoring of health and environmental impacts. Violations, they said, should attract meaningful consequences, including fines, suspension from office, and bans from future agricultural input projects.
The AAPN also issued far-reaching recommendations. These include introducing a comprehensive Pesticide Control Bill to strengthen oversight, gradually phasing out HHPs in line with FAO/WHO guidelines, promoting biopesticides and agroecological methods in agricultural support programs, making pesticide safety training mandatory before distribution, and launching a nationwide awareness campaign involving the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Information. “Support to farmers must be responsible,” the statement concluded. “Regulation must be proactive. Enforcement must be visible. And well-meaning intentions must never again be a cover for systemic harm.”
Nigeria’s food systems now sit at a dangerous crossroads. Without urgent reforms, the country risks not only the health of its people but also its agricultural economy and international trade reputation. For many farmers in remote communities, who often receive pesticides as gifts of support, the difference between a productive season and a poisoned harvest may well depend on how quickly these calls to action are implemented.