Afghanistan Accelerating Sustainable Agriculture ... - part - usaid

2000, some 60 percent of the approximately 77 people in Benin poisoned to death by endosulfan ate
food crops that had been treated with it. It is likely that limited analytical testing capabilities exist in
Afghanistan to test food samples for pesticide residues. If food (for example, raisins) will be exported
to Europe, samples will require testing. The EU posts minimum residue levels (MRLs) for acceptable
levels of pesticide residues on imported foods, and these will need to be met.
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) Not Used
Afghan farmers are likely not to use PPE to reduce pesticide exposure risks for the following reasons:
1. No safety equipment is available for purchase.
2. Safety equipment is not affordable.
3. PPE is too hot to wear in the field (in spite of the fact that it is recommended that many pesticides
should be applied very early in the morning when it is cool).
4. Many farmers will not use PPE even if it is available, due to a masculine sense of invincibility.
International best practices for safe use of pesticides require that appropriate PPE be used. Most
pesticide companies list or put pictograms on each pesticide label showing PPE that is required for
use of that certain product. Standards and certification systems for trade in agricultural commodities
also require the use of appropriate PPE. Training should emphasize these facts and decipher
pictograms. Groupings of farmers (via communes, cooperatives, and associations) can purchase PPE
for use or rental by members, thus reducing the per-farm cost of ownership.
Obsolete and Expired Pesticides
In Afghanistan, expired pesticides might be encountered in any large aerial or ground spray
campaigns against migratory or medical pests like locusts, mosquitoes, or Leishmaniasis-transmitting
sand flies. These should not be diverted to the horticulture sector, as often happens in developing
countries: Instead, they should be properly disposed of. Both the World Bank and the FAO have
programs for disposal of obsolete pesticides. ASAP can train farmers to look at the label for the
expiration date or date of manufacture — most pesticides remain active and useable if stored properly
for two years past the date of manufacture.
Conclusion
All of these issues with pesticides in Afghanistan can increase the risk for errors to occur and thus, the
risks that farm family members may be acutely or slowly poisoned and their environment polluted and
damaged. Thus the pesticide risk profile for Afghanistan is higher than might be encountered in some
more developed countries. Extra care will be needed to emphasize and implement mitigation
measures that work.
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