By Boluwatife Akinola

In recent years, there has been growing concern over the correlation between certain foods and mortality rates. While food is a fundamental necessity for sustaining life, it has become increasingly apparent that improper handling, storage, and consumption of certain food items can have fatal consequences. 

One of the key factors contributing to mortality linked to food consumption is the presence of harmful chemicals used in food production and preservation. From pre-planting to post-harvest stages, chemicals are often employed to enhance crop yield and prolong shelf life.

However, the indiscriminate use of these chemicals poses significant health risks to consumers, including the development of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

 While exact figures on annual deaths from consuming chemically treated crops are elusive, pesticide exposure leads to various health issues, potentially resulting in elevated mortality rates.

Moreover, the issue extends beyond chemical contamination to encompass inadequate storage facilities and preservation methods.

 Grains, such as rice and beans, commonly consumed staples in many diets, are particularly susceptible to contamination if not stored properly. The utilization of chemical preservatives further exacerbates the risk, leading to adverse health outcomes and, in severe cases, mortality.

In addition to chemical contamination and improper storage, societal perceptions and practices surrounding food production and consumption play a crucial role in mortality rates.

Traditional farming methods, which rely heavily on chemical inputs and synthetic fertilizers, contribute to the proliferation of harmful substances in food products. Furthermore, cultural norms and economic constraints often influence dietary choices, with individuals opting for cheaper but potentially hazardous food options.

To tackle the concerns regarding agricultural chemicals and small-scale farming, The Hope spoke with Mrs. Oyediji Grace, the state coordinator of the Small Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), Ondo state chapter.

Mrs. Oyediji addressed critical issues surrounding food safety and emphasized the importance of food preparation, storage facilities, and farming practices in ensuring food safety. She noted that any food, if not handled properly, could potentially lead to illness or even death.

Mrs. Grace told The Hope that improper storage and preservation methods for grains such as rice and beans need to be scrutinized for their potential contribution to diseases like cancer and heart disease.

She pointed out that from the pre-planting stage to post-harvest, chemicals are commonly employed, which may lead to adverse health outcomes and contribute to an increased mortality rate among consumers.

When discussing ways to ensure bountiful yields, Oyediji advocated for homemade fertilizers as a cost-effective and safer alternative to chemical fertilizers. She suggested using natural ingredients like Neem leaves (Dongoyaro) to enrich the soil and promote healthier crop growth.

In her words, “Although we need to go into commercial farming if we want to improve our productivity and income, by using these chemical fertilizers, we are just wasting our money because if you want to spray your farm with chemicals now, a bottle of chemical is now N5000.

“But we have some other things that we can use and are very cheap; we can find them in our surroundings, such as Neem leaf, which we all know as Dongoyaro. You can use it as fertilizer by weighing it, pounding it, or blending it, and after pounding, putting it in the water, leaving it in water for 24 hours, and sieving it before spraying it on the farm,” she explained.

She also addressed the impacts of preservatives and additives on human health. warned against the dangers of consuming foods treated with chemicals, citing instances of cancer and kidney failure linked to their use.

To mitigate the risks associated with consuming potentially harmful foods, Mrs. Grace emphasized the need for individuals to embrace sustainable farming that works with nature. which is called “agroecology” and advises individuals to make their soil healthy, stresses the importance of organic farming.

“As we consume those chemicals, they circulate in our bodies, and when they start working, we discover that we are having some issues in our system, so that is the effect.

That is why we are sensitizing people even on the radio; we are sensitizing people to go into agroecology, which is planting naturally without the use of chemicals. If we plant our crops naturally, we don’t burn our farmland after clearing, we just pack it, then we plant our crops, and we do not drain farmland with chemicals,” she added.

Mrs. Oyediji encouraged people to see farming as a respectable job, not just something for poor people. She suggested that even if someone does not have much land, they can still grow crops in sacs in their backyards. This way, anyone can take part in farming and provide for themselves, no matter their situation.

“Though in some areas, we are saying that we do not have enough land to farm yet, at the back of our house, we can still do farming too.

If you do not have space, go into sac farming, in which you put soil inside a sac and plant whatever you like in it, such as yam, vegetables, potatoes, and whatever you want to plant aside from cash crops,” she said. 

She urged the government to enhance infrastructure for farmers, including transportation services, to facilitate the delivery of produce to markets. 

“There must be a high level of awareness creation for the people and sensitization on the actual effects of these chemicals and the use of them on our farmland. 

If the government can provide tricycles for farmers to take produce to the market, it will be better,” she said.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) encourages compliance with good agricultural practices to minimize pesticide use and ensure food safety. 

In their report, the body emphasizes the importance of strict regulation and control of pesticides due to their intrinsic toxicity and potential for adverse health effects and aims to ban the most toxic pesticides and set maximum limits for pesticide residues in food and water to protect public health.