17 Die of Food Poisoning

SEVENTEEN out of 28 persons from various farming communities in the East Mamprusi District of the Northern region who were diagnosed of suspected food poisoning have died.

Five other cases of suspected food poisoning in Gbintiri and 12 in Nanori have been successfully handled, with victims treated and discharged.

Madam Paulina Bayiwasi, District Director of Health Services (GHS), said the increasing cases of suspected food poisoning could be attributed to the inappropriate use of chemicals and pesticides for farming.

The district director, speaking at a sensitization workshop on the dangers associated with the use of chemicals and pesticides in farming in the East and West Mamprusi Districts, commended the organizers of the programme for the initiative and disclosed that it would help reduce the canker in the districts.

She also called on government and donor agencies to assist her outfit with a laboratory and personnel to effectively manage diseases in the area.

At the end of the workshop, the participants from the two districts unanimously kicked against the use of chemicals and pesticides following the number of deaths it had caused.

They called on government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society to address the menace without delay through regulations and advocacy to save poor farmers and the country's natural environment from depletion.

The event was organized at the instance of the Presbyterian Agricultural Station in Langbensi (PAS-L).

Facilitators presented highlights of a 46-page research on pesticides and its misuse by farmers in Ghana and in the Northern Region in particular, to members of the East and West Mamprusi Districts Advocacy Platforms.

Participants called on government, the legislature and civil society to immediately pass into law the 2000 draft regulation of the Environmental Protection Act which was enacted in 1994, for the Act to be effectively implemented.

The draft seeks to resource the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with offices in the districts so they could check the sale of harmful chemicals by unlicensed dealers to farmers in the villages.

The East and West Mamprusi Advocacy Platforms also recommended the adoption of organic farming and integrated pest management practices as a way of reducing the dependence on chemical pesticides.

It was also noted that the review of government's policy towards the use of pesticides could help communities develop their own monitoring mechanisms on the use and impact of pesticides to raise local awareness and empowerment.

Presenting the highlights of the research report, the Advocacy Desk Officer of PAS-L, Daniel Tia Sandow, disclosed that Ghanaian farmers who used chemical pesticides to control insects and diseases on their farms were potentially exposed to many dangers.

He mentioned that contacts of the chemicals with the skin, eyes and through inhalation could result in  cancer, birth defects, nausea, skin irritation, impotency and damage to the nervous system.

According to Mr. Sandow, in November 2010 alone, the nation lost 15 farmers in the Upper East Region from suspected pesticide poisoning through poor storage of pesticide, which found its way into food stocks of the farmers.

He recounted that in 2008, a comprehensive analysis of pesticide contamination in farmers in Ghana found intolerable levels of chlorine pesticide residues, including DDT, in breast milk and blood of farmers, which therefore had adverse effects on their children.

He hinted that pesticide residue levels were in virtually everything we ate from the farms as residues from six banned chemical pesticides- DDT, Endosulfan, Lindane, Dieldrin, Aldrin and Endrin- had been found in food samples, fish, water, meat, fruits and vegetables in recent times.

The advocacy desk officer of PAS-L said the continuous use of chemical pesticides was as a result of the weak enforcement of laws and regulations governing the use of pesticides as some banned chemicals such as Atrazine and Paraquat were still being imported into the country.

He noted that the increase in importation of pesticides into Ghana had brought about  an increase in the number of importing companies, lamenting that most of the companies were illegal and unregistered hence their activities could not be regulated.

He tasked advertisers of pesticides to also remember to talk about its effects .

Mr. Sandow called on farmers to adopt organic farming methods which according t o him, were safe and effective, adding that they should also wear the appropriate protective clothing before using chemicals.

The District Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Taalaar-Dery Credo, advised farmers to adopt proper methods of disposing pesticide containers and to also seek advice from their extension officers before using the pesticides.

He lamented that some farmers in the district continued to spray their tomato farms to induce the fruit to ripe, warning that such farms would be destroyed.

The District Director of MoFA appealed to chiefs and landowners to make land available for women for farming purposes.

From Stephen Zoure, Nalerigu