Management of obsolete pesticides in West Africa and Sahel: countries take up the challenge with FAO support
Sites heavily contaminated by obsolete pesticides, rampant reuse of empty pesticide packaging by rural and urban communities, massive and uncontrolled importation of pesticides to control pests and increase agricultural yields; the picture of pesticide management in West Africa and Sahel is not a bright one. This situation threatens the health of populations and constitutes a real threat to the environment, given the structural weakness of certain countries in controlling the flow of phytosanitary products.
Since 2016, FAO and its partners such as ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS, with the financial support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), have been implementing the Regional Project on Elimination of Obsolete Pesticides including POPs and Strengthening Pesticide Management in CILSS Member States (GCP/INT/147/GFF) for nine (9) countries in West Africa and Sahel.
After five years of implementation, major achievements are visible on the ground in Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal under the technical coordination of FAO.
In all the nine countries, a major activity has been to undertake the safe disposal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other obsolete pesticides and remediation of pesticide-contaminated sites. Out of an estimated 850 T to be disposed of, stakeholders identified over 1520 T. To achieve this, capacity building was intensified. The countries have received from FAO more than two thousand (2000) pieces of personal protective equipment to facilitate the inventory of obsolete pesticides. Capacity building activities for technicians and institutional managers were carried out, as well as the development of strategies and detailed plans for the centralisation of obsolete pesticides and part of the national stocks of obsolete pesticides. In addition, one hundred and eighteen (118) agents from 8 countries were trained to inventory physically and through the Pesticides Stocks Management System software. In order to contribute to the proper management of highly contaminated sites, 20 actors from Senegal and Mauritania received theoretical and practical training on the application of rapid environmental assessment tools and investigation techniques for polluted sites. A Rapid Environmental Assessment and a remediation plan were carried out in 4 identified sites in Senegal and Mauritania.
Significant progress in the management of empty pesticide packaging
In Burkina Faso, Senegal and Chad, the project helped to establish a national thematic group on the management of empty pesticide packaging, a major objective of the Pesticides management project in West Africa and the Sahel. Action plans for the management of empty pesticide packaging have been developed and implemented through micro-projects for the management of empty pesticide packaging in the cotton sector.
Strengthening the regulatory framework for the sound management of pesticides, a major focus of the project
Six harmonised tools for the registration and management of pesticides within the framework of West African Committee for the registration of Pesticides (COAHP) have been developed and the National Pesticide Management Committees (CNGP) of Burkina Faso, Niger, The Gambia, Senegal and Chad have benefited from capacity building on the regulatory framework and regional guidelines for pesticide management. 51 actors and partners from
the 17 States of the CILSS-ECOWAS-UEMOA zones have been trained on the Integrated Pesticide Management System module in West Africa. Actions are underway to update the ECOWAS regulation C/Reg.3/05/2008 on the rational management of pesticides in West Africa.
Alternatives to chemical pesticides widely promoted among producers
While pesticides are useful for improving agricultural productivity, they are not essential and alternatives to pesticides are equally important. In Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal, the GCP/INT/147/GFF project has helped promote 41 alternatives to pesticides to about 2000 vegetable, maize and cotton farmers through a regional action plan for the promotion of integrated management of alternatives.
Actions to promote alternatives to pesticides have focused on setting up and supporting farmer field schools (FFS). In Burkina Faso, 195 farmers, 35% of whom are women, have adopted alternatives to pesticides for cabbage and tomato cultivation. In Mali, 253 farmers, 92% of whom are women, have adopted alternatives to pesticides in the cultivation of cabbage and tomatoes. In Senegal, alternatives to pesticides were promoted to 173 farmers, 92% of whom were women, for the cultivation of sweet pepper and bitter aubergine.
In addition to promotional actions, the evaluation of the accessibility of producers to alternatives to synthetic chemical pesticides and the value chain (import, local production, distribution, availability to farmers) of the selected alternatives was carried out. Technical manuals on preventive and curative alternatives were produced and shared with stakeholders at various levels.
After five years of implementation, FAO and its national and regional partners have laid the groundwork for the rational management of obsolete pesticides in West Africa and Sahel. With a few months to go before the end of this regional initiative, all stakeholders are calling for a second phase that will complete the work begun and provide the region and countries with sustainable mechanisms for managing obsolete pesticides, which unfortunately continue to increase in volume and still threaten the environment and the health of populations.