EU placed a temporary suspension on the export of agricultural produce such as beans yams, melons and groundnut from Nigeria.

Rejection of Nigeria crops (beans and yams) abroad

The EU in 2015 placed a temporary suspension on the export of agricultural produce such as beans yams, melons and groundnut from Nigeria.

Again, in 2016 the ban was further extended for a 3 years period. This was attributed mainly due to high levels of agro-chemical residues and aflatoxin. According to the EU, Nigerian dried beans contain high level of pesticides residue, between 0.03mg/kg and 4.6mg/kg, far above the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) of 0.01mg/kg. Such chemicals discovered in dried beans include Chlorpyrifos, Cyhalothrin, Dimathoate, Trichlorphon and Omethoate. The health effects of consumption of beans with high level of pesticides include, asthma, allergies, hypersentivity, convulsion, dizziness, sweating, difficulty in breathing, abdominal cramping, diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of consciousness, hormone disruption and problem with reproduction.

Nigerian Yam rejected by the EU

High level of pesticides contamination of aquatic bodies: A Case study at Federal College of Education Ehamufu

In 2016 we carried out research on the acute toxicity of butaforce and termex pesticides on Bufo regularis tadpoles in the aquatic ecosystems at the premises of the Federal College of Education Ehamufu. Our results at the end of the study became very interesting. The following year (i.e. 2017) we designed another research to study the effects of the same pesticides on the body physiology of the Bufo regularis tadpoles at the same premises of the Federal College of Education Ehamufu. To our greatest surprise, we could not sample appreciable number of Bufo regularis tadpoles. We discovered that the college decided to embark on large scale rice farming around the school premises. Large quantities of herbicides were applied to kill weed to make way for cultivation of rice. The herbicides applied were carried to the water bodies around and were responsible for the high mortalities and subsequent depletion of the tadpoles around the school compound. This action affected the balance in the ecosystem and may have direct effects on other non-target organisms in the area.