By Nico von Burick
The government’s decision to ban Terbufos as a pesticide is not yet applicable, because an entire process still needs to be followed to make this possible.
Dr. Gerhard Verdoorn, director of the Griffon Poison Information Centre and a consultant for the agrochemical industry, says by law the ban must first be announced in a draft regulation, after which four weeks of public participation and comment will follow before any regulation can be issued.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister in the Presidency, announced on 12 June that the cabinet had approved the ban on the drug and that it may no longer be imported into South Africa. This comes after the deaths of six children in Soweto in October last year were linked to this insecticide. It is suspected they got it through food purchased at spaza shops. The pesticide is mainly used in agriculture to control nematodes.
Verdoorn says there has never been any proof from the government that locally produced Terbufos led to the deaths of the children. According to him, his information indicates it was smuggled in illegally from Zimbabwe and sold on street corners to poison rats.
“Someone must now be held accountable for the children’s deaths. People who are in illegal possession of the drug caused the children’s deaths, not agriculture.” He says it doesn’t help the product is banned, because it is still for sale on street corners, and it is these sellers who need to be caught.
Corné Louw, Grain SA’s head of applied economics and member services, says nematodes are a big problem for grain and soybean production, especially in sandy soil. “If we don’t have access to the necessary pesticides, it will definitely compromise the sustainability of grain production, especially in the western parts of the country.
“Terbufos is not only an effective product, but also cost-effective. There are alternatives, but cost plays a role. Sustainability is about profitability and if you can no longer produce maize profitably in a certain area, you cannot continue to plant it. Ultimately, this can negatively affect the availability of food.”
He emphasises that while there is a lot of sympathy for the poisoned children, one must also realise that it was not Terbufos that came from agriculture or was formulated locally, but that it was smuggled into the country. “Now agriculture is being punished for this criminal act, and there are also doubts whether this will solve the problem at all.”
Liza Bohlmann, media spokesperson for Bayer Crop Science in Sub-Saharan Africa, says the instructions for use on the label of any pest control product must be followed closely for the safe use of the product. “Whether it is used in a garden or on a farm, the instructions must be followed. If a mask or gloves are required, the handler must comply with the requirements, and if it needs to be mixed in a certain way, it must be done that way.” She says it is a big responsibility to apply the pest control correctly, including the instructions on the stage at which it can be applied.
Meanwhile, the South African Human Rights Commission welcomed the cabinet’s decision on the ban and said it had also called for a ban on Terbufos and a move towards regenerative agriculture to support public health in a presentation to the portfolio committee on agriculture. The commission says the committee welcomed the proposal by a multi-sectoral task force that feasible and effective alternatives to Terbufos and other dangerous pesticides be found within six months.
