Misapplication of agro-chemicals contributing to deformities, infertility and kidney-related problems – MoFA

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) on Tuesday advised vegetable farmers to engage Agriculture Extension Agents (AEAs) whenever they intend to apply agro-chemicals on their crops to prevent food poisoning.

Madam Louisa Asantewaa, an Agric Officer at the Berekum West District of the Bono Region who gave the advice expressed concern about the misapplication of agro-chemicals by some farmers, and thereby contributing to food poisoning.

She said research had shown that abuse and misapplication of agro-chemicals poisoned vegetables like tomato, garden eggs and cabbage, saying that partly contributed to deformities and mental health conditions among children, infertility among young women and kidney related problems.

Mad Asantewaa gave the advice when speaking at a day’s training for some vegetable farmers engaged in tomato and cabbage production at Chiraa in the Sunyani West Municipality of the Bono Region.

The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) with support from the Kosmos Innovation Center and Mastercard Foundation organized the training for the 55 members of the Brenyekwa Farmers Association in the Municipality.

Mad Asantewaa indicated that each of the agro-chemicals farmers bought had inscriptions or guides for their application, regretting that because many of them could not read, they just applied them on the crops anyhow.

Describing it as unacceptable, she noted that the bad practice of misapplying chemicals mostly contaminated vegetables and led to food poisoning, urging the farmers to desist from that and to save lives.

Mr Benjamin Sarfo, the Programmes Officer of the PFAG, said the Association remained committed to bringing together smallholder farmers, identifying and helping tackle emerging challenges confronting their farm work.

He urged the farmers to form cooperatives at the local levels and strengthen their interactions to enable them to solve some of the problems by themselves.

Mr Sarfo said with the cooperatives, the farmers could also access credit facilities and also get ready markets for their crops.

Mr Daniel Kofi Yeboah, a tomato farmer and one of the facilitators, urged the farmers to ensure that they study the weather patterns, spray and stake their crops as recommended by the AEAs in order that they would not accrue losses.

Source: GNA

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