Prime
Tayebwa raises alarm on cancer-causing pesticides
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, chairs a plenary session at Parliament on August 15. He has questioned why some “cancer-causing pesticides” are being imported into Uganda. PHOTO/DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- He says neigbouring countries such as Kenya have put in place measures to prevent such pesticides from entering the country.
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, has questioned why some “cancer-causing pesticides” that are banned in the European Union countries continue to be imported into Uganda.
“It was brought to my attention in one of the engagements which we were having with the European Union and African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP EU) Joint Parliament Assembly (JPA) that there are pesticides which are banned in the European Union but are allowed to be exported to third world countries like Uganda,” Mr Tayebwa said during the plenary session on Wednesday.
“They are manufactured in the European Union, they know they are bad, they cause cancer, but they are allowed to manufacture on condition that they don’t sell to the European Union. They are just for exports,” the Deputy Speaker added.
Mr Tayebwa, who did not specify when the engagement happened, said when the issue was raised at the EU level in the JPA, it was a concern even for the members of the European Parliament.
“But this [manufacture and export] continued. In many countries, even Kenya, efforts are being put in place to ensure such pesticides don’t come into their country. If it is not good for your people, then it is also a danger for others so you shouldn’t be manufacturing it. I want to bring that to your [Minister of Agriculture Frank Tumwebaze] attention and see how best you can look at that,” he further said.
His remarks followed a concern about the safety of meat and milk in the market, which the Vice President (VP), Ms Jessica Alupo, had raised.
The VP said: “I remind you [Tumwebaze] to accelerate your efforts on regulating and controlling acaricides. This is because of the food we eat. We eat meat and drink milk from the cows. When we drink milk, it should not have been contaminated by the acaricides or even the meat [because] acaricides are counterfeit.”
Mr Tumwebaze told the House that close attention will be paid to extension services.
“It is an issue of extension services. When you inject an animal with antibiotics, veterinarians will tell you that you should not milk that animal or slaughter it until the withdrawal period is observed, of around 14 days,” he said.
The minister added that they are planning to strengthen the regulation of pesticides and acaricides.
“Cabinet approved the idea of forming food and agricultural authority that will be dedicated to issues of food safety, this authority will beef up Uganda National Bureau of Standards and National Drug Authority in making sure we are secure,” he said.
Research
The Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights Uganda, a non-governmental organisation, on October 19, said: “Up to 94 percent of the food sold in Ugandan markets is contaminated with high doses of dangerous agrochemicals such as Mancozeb that are banned in other markets, including the EU market.”
This reporter couldn’t independently verify this claim, but previous studies by researchers from Makerere University and other institutions also indicated that the fruits, vegetables and other food commodities have unacceptable levels of pesticide residue and other contaminants.
Mr Charles Ssemugabo from Makerere University, in a report published in 2022 in scientific journal Food Safety and Risk, indicated “overall, 57 pesticides were detected in fruits and vegetables from farm to fork.”
“Of the 57, a total of 39 pesticides were detected in all the fruits and vegetables studied. Concentrations of fonofos, fenitrothion and fenhexamid were above the European Union maximum residual limits in some samples,” the report reads.
“The number of pesticides with estimated daily intake greater than the acceptable daily intakes decreased with increase in age,” the researcher added.
