This brief on agrochemicals in food production and processing is aimed at identifying ways of transitioning African food systems (production and processing) to reduce their reliance on synthetic agrochemicals and promote inputs that protect human health and are environmentally friendly and sustainable. The main finding is that agrochemical use and misuse in African food production and processing are on the rise. The proliferation of these chemicals is largely due to: a) powerful agrochemical corporations prioritising profits over the adoption of environmentally friendly agroecological practices; b) weak regulatory environments in many African countries; c) commercial farmers promoting agrochemical use over agroecological practices; and d) poor awareness and education among farmers and other stakeholders on agrochemical use in food production and processing.
To transition African food production and processing systems away from the burgeoning use of agrochemicals towards the increased use of environmentally friendly and agroecological inputs, this brief puts forward six recommendations:
- Strengthen agrochemical governance through inclusive multi-stakeholder participation and transparency across the entire food production and processing value chain, and across scales from local to national to international.
- Coordinate, mobilise and support investments into agroecological food production and processing systems and practices.
- Raise awareness of the deleterious effects of agrochemicals in food production and processing, and empower farmers on alternative production (e.g. bio-inputs such as biochar) and processing systems.
- Use finance-related levers that include tax relief and credit lines to reorient capital towards agroecological practices aimed at reducing the increases in synthetic agrochemicals in the food production and processing systems.
- Ensure that philanthropic and related organisations supporting agrochemical corporations insist on safer and ecologically friendly agrochemicals, including putting mechanisms in place to counter the rapid spread of these harmful agrochemicals in African food production and processing. Such mechanisms could include collaborating with government agencies to strengthen regulatory environments and technical capacities in agroecology, promote climate-resilient indigenous seeds and cultivars, support targeted education and awareness programmes and promote market access for agroecologically and organically produced as well as other environmentally safe processed food.
- Encourage philanthropic organisations to work closely with civil society organisations and grassroots movements, researchers and other roleplayers that are demanding safer and ecologically friendly agricultural practices. This would imply an adoption of a holistic and value-chain-wide approach to combating the use and expansion of agrochemicals in food production and processing. Such an approach would necessarily include banning the importation of highly hazardous chemicals and equipping farmers with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions. Taking actions as well as working collaboratively across levels of society and among diverse actors and stakeholders is urgent.
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