My Nonprofit Reviews

If you prefer mint in your tea, then you should read this
By: Moulay Hassan Aladlouni
HAF Country Director
Marrakech: A few years back, Moroccans started talking about how the use of pesticides negatively affected their desire to use mint when making tea. When I asked why, someone explained that many farmers use pesticides when growing mint that are harmful to the human body. At the time, it was not clear to me why people stopped using mint. After attending a webinar on pesticides safe use, however, I fully understood why and how pesticides can harm humans.
On November 12th, the Agricultural Volunteer Opportunity Program (AVOP) organized a webinar where Tim McCoy, an extension associate at Virginia Tech, gave a talk to participants who were largely from African countries. The webinar covered topics such as exposure to pesticides during application, disposal of spilled pesticides, keeping pesticides away from home, and finally unsafe residues found on vegetable crops.
Exposure to pesticides during application
When applying pesticides, it is imperative that applicators wear personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times. The first and most important protective item is a good pair of gloves. They not only protect applicators, but they also set the standard for safe applications and serve as a visual reminder of the potential risks applicators face if not worn. PPE can be seen as an unnecessary expense, but farmers should be reminded that this is a good investment to protect their health.
Another factor that can reduce pesticide exposure is the nozzle that the applicator uses. Full cone nozzles and flat fan nozzles can give good coverage without exposing the applicator to the harmful pesticides as much.. On the other hand, pin streams and hollow cones can more easily expose farmers to pesticides. Therefore, before applying pesticides, the applicator should read the instructions carefully and use the nozzle that will provide better protection.
The third factor that will protect farmers and others from pesticide exposure is reentry intervals (REI). Each pesticide’s package will specify how long one should wait before reentering a treated field. Many farmers overlook this recommendation for two reasons: either they do not read the instructions or they do not read them thoroughly. A good practice to reinforce this, and remind others, is to label the field in a way that specifies when people can safely re-enter that area. The label must be visible, readable, and weather proof. (see graph)
One downside to PPE that often deters farming from using PPE is that it can also add to heat stress risk, which can look like pesticide exposure. Symptoms include disorientation, impaired sweating, headache, pupil dilation, and unconsciousness. There are two heat risks: heat exhaustion and heat stroke. The first can have symptoms such as excessive sweating or muscle cramps. The signs of heat stroke include no sweating, nausea, or vomiting.
Disposal of spilled pesticides
When pesticides are spilled, it is best to use the three Cs protocol: Control, Contain, and Clean-up.
The first priority should be to control the leak or spill so it is stopped immediately. Once the spill or leak is under control, it is important to contain the contaminated area in order to keep the spill from spreading any further.
Next, the farmer should clean up the spilled pesticide using rags or other material that will help absorb the pesticide. If the pesticide can be reused, do so immediately or return it to its proper storage container until time for use. Otherwise dispose of the pesticide and all cleaning materials safely.
Lastly, dig up the contaminated soil, spread it in a safe space, and leave it in the sun for plenty of time to decontaminate.
Keeping pesticides away from home
When applicators finish working with these dangerous chemicals, they should follow a protocol to keep pesticides from entering their living quarters. Knowing that pesticide residues can be found on clothes, applicators should follow these steps each time they are working with them
Wear PPE
Wearing PPE is the first step to protecting one’s skin and clothes from exposure to harmful chemicals. PPE Also Limits the amount of chemicals that might be transported from the field and into the home.
Use different clothes for work
Clothes that are worn for application should be kept separate from everyday clothes, as they may become saturated with the pesticides.
Keep applicator clothes separate
Remove any work clothes before entering your home. Avoid mixing clothes that are used for pesticide application with the rest of the family's clothes.

Do not mix clothing that has been exposed to pesticides with the rest of the laundry. Washing these clothes together could cause the pesticides to transfer onto other family member’s clothes and cause them harm.
Use hot water and soap

Hot water and soap is crucial when washing clothing that has been exposed to pesticides. This will help break down the chemicals and remove them from the cloth.
Discard clothes if badly contaminated
Clothing that has been saturated in pesticides absorb the chemicals and cause a risk of exposure to the wearer. These clothes should be thrown out immediately to reduce the risk of further exposure.

The main thing to keep in mind is that pesticide residues can get into your food or your pet's food, resulting in serious illness. Therefore, keeping contaminated clothing away from home altogether is the right thing to do.
Unsafe residues found on vegetable crops
Several scientific studies in the last ten years have shown that many vegetable crops retain unsafe pesticide residue at harvest. Almost 10% of tested produce had unsafe levels of residue. This is caused by three main factors: use of banned pesticides, overuse of acceptable pesticides, and not following recommended waiting periods before harvest.
Farmers choose to use banned pesticides because they are cheaper or because they do not know that certain pesticides are prohibited. Others use higher concentrations of acceptable pesticides thinking that it will protect the crop better.
However, the most common factor in traces of pesticides being found in food is rushing to sell the produce to reduce the cost. Farmers will harvest produce before the end of the recommended waiting period, meaning the produce may not have had enough time in the field for the pesticides to wear off. This results in having pesticide residue in the marketed produce.
What is the solution?
Higher concentration of pesticide residues can cause acute illnesses. More concerning effects are the chronic ones such as cancer, endocrine disruption, neurological dysfunction, and mutations.
To prevent this from happening, farmers should seek training to protect themselves, their families, and other people. The USAID Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program can be of good use to farmers who are looking for pesticide use experts. F2F can bring experts from the U.S. to work with farmers to learn how to use pesticides safely.
Moulay Hassan Aladlouni is the High Atlas Foundation’s Country Director of the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program in Morocco.