The nature of news is such that events
get reported only when something extraordinary happens. More often than not, these
extraordinary events have a negative aspect.
You will never read a headline proclaiming no one was
arrested for armed robbery the previous day. The lead story for the evening news will
rarely focus on the complete absence of traffic congestion on the streets of Dar es Salaam
on a Sunday or at night. And you can be certain that no editor will “stop the press”
in order to report that the thousands of farmers and other licensed pesticide applicators
who use chemicals every day have correctly followed label directions and applied
registered pesticides in an approved and safe manner.
But if a mishap occurs it becomes big news and often
brings out the “ban-everything” brigade replete with exaggerated claims of
possible further doom and destruction. The resulting consequences can then be far
reaching.
When talking about a mishap, in Tanzania we have a looming
situation where this could happen through illegal pesticides, often imported without the
knowledge of the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TPRI).
Pesticides in the country are required to be registered by
the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TPRI) and only those pesticides that are
approved by this institute are allowed to be imported. The greed for quick profits has
however drawn some unscrupulous individuals or companies to bring in unregistered
pesticides from neighbouring countries through illegal panya routes or by paying one’s way through
customs at authorized borders.
An example of a chemical imported illegally is the product
Icon 10WP which is produced by Syngenta and marketed by Rentokil Initial and Twiga
Chemicals in Tanzania. Icon is a lambda-cyhalothrin 10% wettable powder effective for the control of mosquitoes
and is officially available from these two companies with labels prescribed for Tanzania
with instructions in Kiswahili and English. However a fake and unregistered version of
this product is available with Portuguese labeling and this is being sold to susceptible
buyers who get drawn to the product because it is sold cheaper.
The reason this unregistered product is sold cheaper is
because it is stolen from Mozambique and brought here. The manufacturers supplied a large
order to the Mozambique Government from where stocks were stolen and brought into Tanzania.
Similarly another product, aluminium phosphide tablets for
fumigating commodities against weevils, has been smuggled into the country from
neighbouring Zimbabwe, allegedly after having been stolen from leaving farmers who had
stocked this fumigant in their warehouse. It
is believed that the aluminium phosphide has come into the country through the Mbeya route
and sadly many local companies and fumigators are using this product knowingly or
unknowingly of the fact that it is not registered in the country.
This illegal fumigant has no labels in Kiswahili and has
been prepared to suit South Africa conditions where for some months in the year
temperatures are much lower than in Tanzania. Aluminium phosphide is marketed in Tanzania
under the brand of phostoxin tablets made in Germany or the quickphos tablets made in India.
The TPRI imposes stern fines on companies that are found
with unregistered chemicals and there is no doubt that through enforcement of the
pesticide law much has been achieved in terms of pesticide registration. Despite such
achievements there have however been some failures as shown by the examples above
involving the import or smuggling of unregistered pesticides. This has been due to gaps in
the pesticide law, laxity’ on the part of customs officials and law enforcers,
uncontrolled donations which sometimes include a package of unregistered pesticides and
liberalisation of trade leading to loopholes for importers.
Illegal fumigants deprive revenue from companies that have
spent much towards registering their products and expose Tanzanians to either ineffective
or dangerous pesticides that could have serious negative affects on the environment and to
individuals. Illegal fumigants also deprive the TPRI off revenue normally payable by
companies that officially import registered pesticides. The people and local companies
need to cooperate with TPRI to curb the spread of illegal fumigants in the country.