Farmers must ensure maximum caution when using pesticides so as not to endanger their lives, experts have said. The Director-General of Rwanda Agriculture Board (Rab), Jean Jacques Mbonigaba, said farmers and other concerned people should have basic knowledge on the use of pesticides.Mbonigaba was on Tuesday opening a three-day agricultural workshop in Musanze District. The workshop attracted some 50 experts on pesticides from East Africa, Ethiopia as well as the Netherlands. “Pesticides are important for crops and without them it is hard to get good harvest, but they can also be dangerous for human life once not well used because they are poisonous, that is why we urge farmers to handle them cautiously,” Mbonigaba said.He urged people not to mix equipment used in pesticide application with domestic tools, saying it would be detrimental to their health.Experts noted that land is scarce, which calls for application of pesticides to maximise production. They, however, called for more skills for its users in general.According to Atah Umega, the country representative of Food and Agricultural Organisation, the objective of the workshop was to share experiences from East Africa to identify what the gaps and the need so that regional countries can put together a sound programme that can ensure efficient pesticide management.More awareness“We want to make sure that farmers are trained and those who sell pesticides have the right information and make the right prescription to impart to the end users,” Umega added.Joseph Gafaranga, the president of Farmers’ Association in Northern Province, said they still need training on the use of pesticides, adding that out of ignorance, some farmers could end up procuring expired pesticides.Rwanda expects to learn more from experts from Ethiopia and other experts at the workshop so as to boost knowledge of pesticides usage among local farmers.Netherlands pledged support to Rwanda to boost agriculture production through pesticide management.
