Agrochemicals in Food Production and Processing

The brief argues that agrochemical use and misuse are increasing across Africa due to corporate profit motives, weak regulation, and climate change, posing severe risks to human health and the environment. It recommends strengthening governance, increasing investment in agroecology, and leveraging financial tools to reduce synthetic chemical dependence.

• Agrochemical use and misuse in African food production and processing are increasing, driven by corporate prioritization of profits, weak national regulatory environments, the influence of commercial farmers, and a lack of stakeholder education.
• Climate change creates a 'vicious cycle' where environmental degradation, drought, and changing soil fertility increase the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, while the use of these chemicals further contributes to climate change.
• The 'African Green Revolution', promoted by philanthropic organizations like the Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, accelerated the use of inorganic fertilizers and left Africa heavily reliant on imported agrochemicals, some of which are toxic or banned in Europe.
• Poor handling of agrochemicals leads to significant human health crises; for example, 15 farmers died from chemical poisoning in Ghana's Upper East Region, and a study in Uganda found that 99.5% of smallholder farmers applied pesticides without personal protective equipment.
• Environmental contamination is evident in several countries: banned sodium tripolyphosphate has been found in farmed shrimps in Nigeria's Ekpan River, and endocrine-disrupting pesticides like endosulfan and chlorpyrifos have been reported in South Africa.
• Transitioning to agroecology is hindered by the political influence of large commercial farmer lobby groups in countries like Kenya and South Africa, as well as a lack of technical expertise in developing countries to regulate and test for contaminants.

APA

Freeman, O. E., Odume, N., Menach, E., Theophilus, E., Ramkat, R. C., & Opeyemi, E. (2025). Agrochemicals in Food Production and Processing. African Climate Foundation. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/801023_M-Agrochemicals-WEB-1.pdf

Chicago

Freeman, Oluowo Elohor, Nelson Odume, Evans Menach, Erabanabari Theophilus, Rose C Ramkat, and Elujulo Opeyemi. Agrochemicals in Food Production and Processing. African Climate Foundation, 2025. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/801023_M-Agrochemicals-WEB-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Freeman |first1=Oluowo Elohor |last2=Odume |first2=Nelson |last3=Menach |first3=Evans |last4=Theophilus |first4=Erabanabari |last5=Ramkat |first5=Rose C |last6=Opeyemi |first6=Elujulo |title=Agrochemicals in Food Production and Processing |publisher=African Climate Foundation |date=2025 |url=https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/801023_M-Agrochemicals-WEB-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{freeman2025agrochemicals, author = {Freeman, Oluowo Elohor and Odume, Nelson and Menach, Evans and Theophilus, Erabanabari and Ramkat, Rose C and Opeyemi, Elujulo}, title = {{Agrochemicals in Food Production and Processing}}, institution = {African Climate Foundation}, year = {2025}, url = {https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/801023_M-Agrochemicals-WEB-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }