The pesticide regulatory authorities in Ghana represented by Ghana Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) organized (today/yesterday) a sensitization and capacity building workshop, in cooperation with CropLife Ghana representing the pesticide industry in Ghana, and support from CropLife Africa Middle East and CropLife International.
Beneficiary of the program is the staff (prosecutors and other officers) of the Department of Public Prosecution of the Attorney General’s Office (AG-DPP).
The program aims to empower the staff of AG-DPP for the prosecution and administration of deterrent penal sanctions and other measures against the trade and handling of illegal pesticides which is an offense to the Ghana Pesticide Act.
Pesticides are essential tools used in agriculture to protect crops and harvests against pests and diseases.
They contribute to agricultural productivity through better yields and improved quality of the produces.
The increased demand and uses of pesticides in recent years have been accompanied by the growth of trade in illegal pesticides.
According to the OECD, an “illegal pesticide refers to a pesticide that is not legal in the country where it is placed on the market”. This includes counterfeit, fake, unauthorized, and obsolete pesticides.
These pesticides represent serious threats to human health and the environment as they are untested and unregulated, and their contents are unknown.
Beside the health, food safety and security, and the environmental risks, illegal pesticides pose serious economic damages to farmers through crop losses, to the government through tax losses, the rejection of export commodities and loss of market shares and foreign incomes.
The reputation and economic damage to the pesticide industry hampers the incentive for investment in innovation and technology transfer. Therefore, illegal pesticides pose serious threats to the sustainability of the agricultural economy, moreover to the national social and economic development.
The production and distribution of illegal pesticides are criminal activities led by organized crime groups which are exploiting the weak and other gaps in law enforcement to trade these illegal pesticides.
They are motivated by the high profit they earn and disregard the health and environment issues, and the ruin of farmers.
To curb the threats posed by illegal pesticides in Ghana, CropLife Ghana, with the support of CropLife Africa Middle East and CropLife International is engaged in an Anticounterfeit (ACF) program aiming to empower the key stakeholders to combat illegal pesticides.
An important component of the program is the enhancement of law enforcement, especially the prosecution and administration of deterrent ACF sanctions against the illicit trade of pesticides.Overall prosecuting the trade in illicit pesticides will contribute to protect human health and safeguard the environment, improve farmers’ incomes and livelihoods in line with a sustainable agricultural policy for a social and economic development of the country.
Agriculture is known to be the backbone of the economy in Ghana.
For more information
Rashad Kadiri, Program Manager
CropLife Ghana
Source :https://www.dailyagricnews.com/prosecuting-the-trade-in-illicit-pesticides-a-capacity-building-workshop-for-the-department-of-public-prosecution-of-the-attorney-generals-office-ag-dpp/