The need for proper handling of pesticides to avoid hazardous consequences on public health and environment has again been emphasised. Speaking at the Mont Febe Hotel, Yaounde on Monday March 14 at the opening of a sub regional workshop for Central Africa on the handling of pesticides, the Permanent Secretary of the Pesticide Committee for Central Africa, CPAC, Benoit Bouato said the prior registration or approval of pesticides before distribution ensures that risks are minimized.

Given the fast evolving changes in the management of pesticides, it was necessary for workshop participants from the Central African Economic and Monetary Commission, CEMAC zone to be kept abreast in order to “speak a common language,” explained the CPAC Permanent Secretary. He noted that so far, the handling of pesticides in the sub region has been largely disorganized, though Cameroon and Chad were making some effort. “Fortunately for the people of the sub region, agriculture is still largely at a subsistence level, else the consequences of unauthorized use of pesticides would be disastrous,” he explained. Even after approval for use, pesticides have to be handled rightly, else they still pose great threat to public health and environment,” warned Thierry Mercier, Director of the French National Food Safety Agency, ANSES, whose institute is facilitating the workshop. The CEMAC sub region is inhabited by about 30 million people, most of whom are farmers; thus the need for them to be provided with safe pesticides.

The theme of the workshop is, “Management, regulation, evaluation and monitoring of the registration of pesticides.” Topics to be covered include procedures for evaluating pesticides, risks to public health and environment and a field exercise. It ends on Friday March 18.