Nigeria is suffering a massive annual loss of approximately $363 million in foreign exchange earnings because of a sustained international ban on its dried beans exports, primarily enforced by the European Union (EU). This critical financial blow was highlighted during the recent National Summit on Agroecology and Public-Private Partnerships held in Lagos.
The Root Cause: A Dangerous Pesticide
The EU first imposed the ban in 2015 after tests revealed alarmingly high concentrations of the pesticide Dichlorvos, commonly known as DDVP, in Nigerian beans. The levels detected far exceeded the safe Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) permitted for food products. DDVP, banned in the EU since 2006 due to its severe health risks, is still widely used by many Nigerian farmers and traders to protect beans from pest infestations during storage.
Stakeholders at the summit, including Muhammad Rili, the General Manager of the Kaduna Agricultural Development Agency (KADA), warned that the continued use of such hazardous chemicals poses a direct and serious threat to the health of both farmers and consumers.
Health Crisis and Budgetary Concerns
The summit communiqué presented a grim picture of the global pesticide problem, noting that developing countries bear a disproportionate burden. While nations like Nigeria use only about 25% of the world's chemical pesticides, farmers in these regions suffer 99% of all pesticide-related poisoning deaths.
Citing World Health Organisation (WHO) data, the document revealed that 385 million farmers experienced acute pesticide poisoning in 2019 alone, with most cases occurring in Africa and Asia. A 2022 survey of smallholder women farmers in Nigeria found that 75% reported health symptoms linked to exposure to highly hazardous pesticides, including breathing difficulties, dizziness, headaches, and skin reactions.
The summit also critiqued the structure of the 2025 budget allocations for agroecology and climate resilience. Participants argued that major budget lines placed under the Presidency and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation should be moved to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Federal Ministry of Environment for better coordination and implementation.
Calls for Action and Indigenous Seed Protection
To tackle these interconnected challenges, summit participants issued several urgent recommendations to federal and state governments:
- Significantly increase yearly budgets for agroecology and agricultural extension services, ensuring timely approval and full release of funds.
- Take immediate steps to preserve and promote Nigeria's indigenous seeds, seedlings, and livestock.
- Establish and strengthen Community Seed Banks across all states to safeguard local genetic resources, regenerate them, and support breeding programmes for climate resilience.
- Expand public investment in agriculture to help raise the sector's GDP growth to at least 6%, focusing on areas like access to credit, post-harvest loss reduction, and climate-resilient farming.
The summit noted that although funding for agroecology has increased between 2020 and 2024, the scale of on-ground activities has not matched the financial commitments.
In a related positive development, the summit highlighted that the Nigeria National Accreditation System (NINAS) has gained international recognition. This means Nigerian export test results and quality certificates are now accepted in over 140 countries, which is expected to save millions of dollars previously spent on sending product samples to Europe for assessment.
