On 13 April 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), pesticide stakeholders, and government policymakers convened in Dodoma for a high-level meeting to present the findings of a risk assessment on Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) conducted by the Tanzania Pesticide Research Institute (TPRI), now known as the Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticide Authority (TPHPA). 

The meeting was officiated by Dr Efrem Njau, TPRI/TPHPA Director General, and was attended by representatives from FAO, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of the Environment at the Vice President's Office, CropLife Tanzania, academia, research institutions, and members of parliament's Permanent Committee for Agriculture, Livestock, and Water.

According to the TPRI/TPHA findings, a total of 24 products exhibited HHP characteristics. The participants discussed the environmental and health risks associated with their continued use, as well as ways to gradually phase them out in accordance with national regulations. 

The history of phasing out HHPs in Tanzania began in September 2016, when the  Secretariat of the East African Community (EAC) organized a workshop to discuss the regional pesticides management program and to implement Phase 2 of the European Union (EU) funded project on Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries (ACP MEAs 2).

Phase 2 of the project aimed to support and strengthen institutional and national capacity building for the synergistic implementation of the target MEAs clusters (chemicals/wastes and biodiversity) in ACP countries. 

The 2016 workshop identified a lack of effective and operational pesticide regulation and control systems in East African countries. As a result banned, unregistered, and counterfeit pesticides, many of them HHPs, are easily found in East African markets.

During the ACP MEAs 2 project, TPRI/TPHPA developed a list of HHPs based on pre-defined requirements established by the FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Management (JMPM). 

The purpose of the list was to identify HHPs and remove them from the market in order to protect the environment and human health, as well as to meet the obligations of the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, which countries such as Tanzania have ratified. 

To provide safer alternatives and instil risk-mitigation measures in the country, FAO is supporting the implementation of the EU-funded ACP MEAs 3 project in Tanzania, which builds on ACP MEAs 2 activities to reduce the risks of HHPs and promote environmentally sustainable approaches designed to conserve biodiversity, which is under threat. 

ACP MEAs 3 aims to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), protect human health from toxic chemicals, ensure long-term biodiversity conservation, promote the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources, and help increase agricultural production and productivity, ensuring the food and nutrition security of rural communities.

The participants also agreed that more extension officers and farmers be trained on pesticide risk reduction and on alternatives such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in order to reduce dependence on chemical pesticides.

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In the photo: seated from left to right, the Honorable Ms Rachael Nyenga, Secretary for Parliament's Permanent Committee for Agriculture, Livestock and Water; the Honorable Prof Patrick Alois Ndakademi, Committee member; Dr Efrem Njau, TPHPA/TPRI Director General; the Honorable Mr Jackson Kiswaga, Committee member, and Mr Diomedes Kalisa, FAO ACP MEAs 3 National Project Coordinator.  (Photo©FAO/Innocent Natai)