Review legal framework of Pesticide Law - Prof. Yeboah

Accra, July 22, GNA - Professor Philip O. Yeboah of the School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Ghana, has called for the review of the legal framework of the pesticide law to ensure a complete protection and safety of human life and the environment. He said the existing law, the Pesticides Control and Management Act 1996 (Act 528) had been squeezed into the Environmental Protection Agencies Act 1994 (Act 490) making it difficult for the other stakeholders to identify and implement their roles in ensuring the safety of the importation and use pesticides and other agricultural chemicals.

Speaking at a two-day seminar on the implementation of the Rotterdam Convention in Accra Prof. Yeboah said the situation was critical and required attention. Participants would review the action plan for the implementation of the Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. Ghana signed the Rotterdam Convention on September 11, 1998 and ratified it on May 30, 2003. It seeks to promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts among parties in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals, in order to protect human life and the environment from potential harm. It also contributes to the environmentally sound use of chemicals by facilitating information exchange about their characteristics, providing for a national decision-making process on their import and export and disseminating these decisions to parties. Prof. Yeboah noted that though Pesticide Residue Laboratory had been established at the Ghana Standards Board to investigate pesticides, that was not enough since it did offer quality check for the other chemicals being used.

"It will not give us the actual chemical components and that may cause loss to farmers' yield and may also lead to environmental and health implications," he added. EPA has registered 200 pesticides for agricultural use and banned 25 pesticides from the markets for the potential risk they may pose to human lives and the environment.

He called on manufacturing companies to ensure that they registered with EPA before manufacturing pesticides and other chemicals for use. Mr. John Pwamang, Director of Chemicals Control and Management Centre, EPA, said pesticides were widely used for pest control but despite their benefits, their risks arose from inherent toxicities of chemicals and from the misuse and over use. He said Ghana needed a further support in building capacities for the collection and analysis of scientific data on chemicals and improvements in the legal framework to address the problems and fulfil her obligations under the Convention. Ms. Maria Helena Semedo, Food and Agriculture Organisation Representative (FAO) in Ghana expressed its commitment in ensuring agricultural production was done in a friendly environment. 22 July 08