Mr Shitu Kabir, the National President, Cowpea and Beans Farmers,
Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, says all hands must be
on deck to get rid of sniper infested beans in the market.
Kabir made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
According
to him, the resurgence of killer beans in Nigerian markets is worrisome
and must be treated as a matter of urgent national importance in view
of the risks they pose to human life.
“It is time for us as a country to begin to look at what we eat.
“It is also time for us to pay a close look at the chemicals we use in our farms, at home and offices.
“The
recent discovery of sniper beans in the market is very worrisome and
all hands must be on deck to create adequate awareness on the killer
beans and other harmful practices that many people are not aware of.
“The
use of chemicals in Nigeria generally calls for concern as many
Nigerians do not pay attention to the type of chemicals they use.
“Even when the chemicals used are not banned, many people do not stick to the required quantity.”
Kabiru
said that the association deemed it necessary to organise a forum to
bring major stakeholders together to chart the way forward.
He said
that beyond the forum, there was the need for collaboration among the
relevant agencies like Nigeria Customs Service, National Agency for Food
and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
According to him, others are Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Association of Cowpea and Bean Farmers Processors and Marketers.
“The meeting we held had these organisations in attendance and the essence is to find lasting solution to the problem.
“We are expecting that the agencies that the association called will brace up in their activities.
“We
expect NAFDAC to brace up in its activities, especially the type of
chemicals they give licenses to and who the operators are.
“For the
Customs, it should look at our borders to ensure that foods are tested
before they are imported and to ensure that chemicals that are banned
are not imported.
“We are also looking at quarantine to also provide good storage and other relevant things.
“For
the Ministry of Agriculture is up and doing on this and last week we
had a meeting with them on how to ensure that the food we eat is safe.
“We
are also working with the media to create more awareness while chemical
distributors and manufacturers are also being carried along.”
The
president said that it was time experts began to discuss on going
organic to avoid the dangers of using chemicals in farm produce.
He said that he was not unaware of the challenges of going organic, but added that it was achievable.
“Some
people may say it is not achievable but with adequate research, we can
achieve it because we must find solution to what is killing us.
“I
want Nigerians to be conscious of the welfare of the people and ensure
that they distribute and sell products that are safe for consumption.
“We should not leave everything to government because the buck stops our table.”
Mr
Jethro Nancy, an infection and disease control expert, decried that
records indicated that more Nigerians had died from poisonous products
than from insurgency.
He said that the report of sniper beans in the
market was a wake-up call for the government and other stakeholders to
put measures in place to tackle the worrisome development.
“We need to put more efforts in the agric value chain to know the commodities that are safe for Nigerians to consume.
“The
recent information on the sniper beans in circulation is an opportunity
for us to go to the drawing board and check other commodities in the
market that might not be safe for consumption.
“If you reflect on
what is happening in terms of Boko Haram, it is a child’s play to the
number of lives that have been lost to consumption of poisonous food.
“The way out of this is to do more in terms of awareness creation.
“Are
farmers aware of the quantity of chemicals they ought to use? Besides
farmers, a lot of people use chemicals without reading the manual to
know the specifications.”
He noted that besides the loss of lives, the use of chemicals had driven bees far into the forest.
Nancy
said that bees were very important to man in terms of pollination and
the production of honey, “which is safe for consumption, but has become
scarce because of the use of chemicals on plants.’’
He called for
pesticide registration and control act to guide the use of pesticides to
complement the role been played by NAFDAC.
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