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To: Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, South African Department of Agriculture,

End the Double Standards: Ban Deadly Pesticides Already Banned in Europe

* [Campaign update]: on the 04th of February, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) met with the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture in parliament to highlight the grave concerns over the human rights impact on the use of Terbufos and similar pesticides, on the rights to food, bodily integrity and life. It was noted that Terfubos, in particular, and other (HHPs) in general, could be banned immediately if alternatives were available. Read the statement here.

Last year in December, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) alongside a coalition of organisations, academics, and unions, submitted a letter of demand to the Minister of Agriculture, Steenhuisen, calling for the immediate ban of Terbufos, the pesticide implicated in the tragic deaths of six children in Soweto last year. The Dept. of Agriculture has until the 28th of February 2025 to respond to the demands, and failure to do so will result in legal action being taken. Read more here.

In 2019, the Women on Farms Project (WFP) launched its Double Standards Pesticides Campaign, which initially targeted the South African government, demanding that it ban 67 Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) already banned in the European Union. The EU continues to produce and export many HHPs to South Africa, even though these pesticides are banned for use on their own soil due to their harmful effects on human health.
 
In 2022, the Department of Agriculture announced its plans to ban certain HHPs by 1 June 2024. However, the most dangerous of these pesticides have still not been banned and are still widely used on commercial farms, causing respiratory problems, skin irritations, genetic mutations, cancer, damage to the reproductive system, and even death, in exposed groups like farm workers and dwellers.

Why is this important?

The Double Standards Pesticides Campaign calls on the South African government to ban all HHPs that have already been banned in the EU. The Campaign is important because tens of thousands of South African farm workers are impacted by exposure to these HHPs as they are often forced to work in vineyards and orchards while pesticides are being sprayed, and without the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE). This has resulted in the health of many farm workers being adversely and irreversibly impacted, affecting their quality of life and ability to work.
 
South African farm workers and dwellers need your support to exert pressure on Minister Steenhuisen to ban all HHPs already banned in the EU, in order to protect their health and wellbeing. 
South Africa

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Updates

2025-02-28 14:05:41 +0200

Terbufos has claimed the life of another 8 year old in the East Rand, read more here: https://www.iol.co.za/thepost/news/girl-7-dies-after-eating-chips-contaminated-with-a-deadly-insecticide-b5bfa7de-8289-4979-888e-e2d03d7d2c80

2025-01-14 13:28:12 +0200

However, other applications are open: Corteva has bought an application to keep its products containing ipconazole – another reproductive toxin – on the market. Comments close on Saturday, 18 January. Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/spzh22a9

2025-01-14 13:28:07 +0200

In December, nine pesticide companies asked the Department of Agriculture for permission to keep selling products containing GLUFOSINATE AMMONIUM, despite a government ruling that the chemical is toxic to reproductive health and should be banned.

Glufosinate ammonium is used as an alternative to glyphosate to kill weeds in vineyards, orchards and sugarcane fields. It is banned in the EU because studies on animals show that being exposed to the chemical increases the chance of miscarriage and other problems during pregnancy.

The nine pesticide companies argue that the chemical can be used safely if farm workers are given proper PPE, which NGOs say often doesn’t happen. The applications were brought en masse on 6 December, which means the 30 days for public comment is now closed.

2025-01-13 11:29:32 +0200

The Department of Agriculture was quoted saying they "plan to phase out or restrict additional pesticides (about 30 active ingredients) whose risk is not manageable by May 2025,” despite missing the June 2024 deadline. Read more here: https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/blanket-pesticides-ban-off-the-cards-eac12b48-f42b-49f9-909d-e60d05814e53

2024-11-27 10:44:50 +0200

500 signatures reached

2024-11-04 15:44:20 +0200

- The Department of Agriculture has identified 28 chemicals found in 346 pesticides that it wants to ban.
- Terbufos, the organophosphate that killed six children in Naledi, is not on the list. Instead, the phase-out targets chemicals that are known or presumed to cause cancer, changes to DNA, birth defects or other reproductive issues.
- But the pesticide industry is fighting back and has told government it will bring applications to keep 115 of these highly toxic pesticides on the market.

Read more here about the damning report: https://amabhungane.org/the-346-pesticides-that-cause-cancer-birth-defects-or-worse-and-the-fight-to-keep-them/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGVrplleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHTRK_U-Hzl9YTse7OZnMn1fSWinAe9I_yuf0azhEaYC7dQdg0AKeNCmbig_aem_JDNf4WTDYHeWQMQOsO40Zg

2024-10-25 07:44:37 +0200

100 signatures reached

2024-10-24 15:05:38 +0200

50 signatures reached

2024-10-24 12:31:58 +0200

25 signatures reached

2024-10-23 18:01:48 +0200

10 signatures reached