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Are there pesticide regulations in West Africa?
Who are the growers in West Africa- men or women (or both)?
What types of ecozones are present in the West Africa region?What is farmer field school (FFS)?
Yes, there are regional and in many cases country-specific regulations governing pesticide use, storage, and disposal in West Africa. The Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) countries of Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad signed a Common Regulation for Registration of Pesticides in 1992. This regulation is supported by the which became operational in 1994 and serves as a common pesticide registration body for registration applications submitted by agrochemical companies and for grants of sales permits for member states. The Institut du Sahel (INSAH)is a member institution of CILSS and works with regional and national organizations to strengthen pesticide management through the CSP, strengthen the import and use of pesticides, increase awareness of the risks associated with pesticide use, and improve quality control and residue analysis.Back to top
Generally speaking, women are responsible for growing the fruits and vegetables consumed by the family. The men tend the fields of subsistence crops (millet, cowpea), cotton, and horticultural commodities sold for additional income. It is important to ask the question, "Who is responsible?" when discussing pesticide use and exposure at the village level since men and women are responsible for different aspects of farming. Back to top
The Saharan, Sahelian, Sudanian, Sudano-Guinean ecozones extend through many CILSS West African countries, resulting in shared agricultural issues and pest problems. Back to top
Farmer field schools rely upon the train-the-trainer model of teaching in which an educator from an extension or research unit trains growers in some aspect of agricultural practice. For example, an educator might train a group of village farmers in integrated pest management (IPM) practices. The growers who readily grasp the material and who are natural teachers then become the trainers; hence the train-the-trainer idea. Ideally, farmer field schools are conducted in the local language and using pictorial and printed lessons to accommodate varying degrees of literacy. Providing booklets about good pesticide practices in a local language had surprising results when the booklets became prized "readers" for women in literacy classes- see full story or download the pdf version (125 k). Back to top
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