Review legal framework of Pesticide Law - Prof.
Yeboah
Accra, July 22, Ghanadot/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.
GNA
