The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has declared that there will be no reversal in its decision to ban and phase out some pesticides in the country.
The agency has also revealed its unwavering commitment to intensify efforts aimed at lifting the ban on Nigerian food exports, especially beans.
During a media interactive session on the agency’s 2023 journey on Monday, December 18, the Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, stated that with modest progress in the period under review, the agency is determined to achieve Maturity Level 4 for both the agency and the country, among other set targets for the upcoming year.
Emphasizing the irreversibility of the banned pesticides, the DG affirmed that the Veterinary Medicines and Allied Products Directorate has recently initiated the phase-out action plan for certain pesticide active ingredients.
According to her, the initial pesticide facing a ban, Paraquat, will be enforced from January 1, 2024.
Following that, the ban on Chlorpyrifos is set to take effect from November 1, 2024, and the ban on Atrazine will come into effect from January 1, 2025.
In addition, the DG said 12 active ingredients are on the ban/phase-out table. These include Carbofuran, Clothianidin, Diquat Dibromide, Diquate Dichloride, Ametryn, Anthraquinone, Carbendazim, Chlorothalonil, Oxadiargyle, Thiacloprid, Methomyl and Thiamethoxam.
According to her, four others – Fipronil, Permethrin, Cyfluthrin and Amitraz are on reclassification.
Expressing concern over the detrimental impact of the ban on Nigerian food exports, particularly the inability to export produce like beans to Europe, the Americas, and other regions, Adeyeye emphasized that NAFDAC is steadfast in its efforts to alter this narrative.
She said: “NAFDAC is assiduously putting in place processes that will result in lifting of ban on food exports such as Beans.
“The efforts include visiting UK counterparts (UK Veterinary and UK Food Safety Agency), working with sister agencies and strengthening our processes, including developing a regulation that serves and legal framework”.
Regarding the modest achievements accomplished in the outgoing year, the DG said that regulatory approvals were granted for the malaria vaccine, MpPox, and Human papillomavirus (HPV) during the year.
She noted that NAFDAC successfully fulfilled its mandate through meticulous adherence to due diligence, the commitment of its workforce, and collaboration with both local and international partners in executing its responsibilities.
Adeyeye pointed out that the attainment of ML3 and the Quality Management System (QMS) was made possible through various audits by relevant global bodies, saying, “The annual QMS Audit aims to ensure continuous improvement in our processes and customer service.”
“The Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) World Health Organization (WHO) Audit team visited NAFDAC to monitor three regulatory processes under Regulatory Inspection, Market Authorization, and Laboratory Testing.
“We have thus achieved a successful WHO GMP inspection observed audit and have since rolled out our roadmap for the attainment of ML4 by next year”.
She also stated that the recent WHO pre-qualification of the Yaba Central Drug Control Laboratory (CDCL) has officially elevated Nigeria to the exclusive group of countries with WHO certification.
The achievement not only grants global recognition to Nigeria but also confirms the Yaba laboratory’s adherence to international standards for drugs originating from Nigeria intended for export.
