Safety Issues Identified in Zimbabwe

The large-scale farm sector in Zimbabwe is the major user of pesticides, but they are increasingly used by peasant and small-scale farmers. Field studies of farm workers during 1985/86 and 1988/89 found that workers mixing pesticides and using manual sprayers receive a high level of exposure. Protective clothing is the main form of control against exposure, but it is poorly maintained, inadequate for the toxicity of the pesticide, often not fitted to the worker and kept for many years without replacement.

    Other sources of exposure included poor storage and control of distribution, re-use of pesticide containers for food and water, contamination of food and water sources and re-entry into sprayed fields too soon after spraying. Information on pesticide hazards is barely adequate. Workers often receive information on the use of protective clothing but not on the hazards, health side-effects or other protective measures. Workers are often unable to read labels or understand the meaning of the symbols used. In almost all farms surveyed, workers were not sent for pre-employment or periodic medical examinations and there were no first aid facilities in one-third of farms, despite legal requirements.

    There is no consistent monitoring system for reporting the health effects of pesticide use, but hospital data suggests that the greatest proportion of rural poisonings occur on large-scale farms. About a third of these poisonings are of women and children resulting from the contamination of their living environment.

    There are specific problems in the agricultural sector that make pesticide use a particular problem. Geographical isolation on farms, illiteracy, job security, inadequate schools and clinics all affect safety. Against this background, farmworkers have, through their farm union (GAPWUZ), begun to take action on applying the safest pesticide methods possible, whilst emphasising the importance of government, employers and unions in solving problems.

Dr Rene Loewenson, (Health & Social Welfare Dept., Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Box 3549, Harare, Zimbabwe), 'Unsafe Practices', Health Action Issue 5, June-August, 1993 p.6.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No.21,September 1993, page 13]