Takoradi, March 11, GNA - Mr Alfred Biney, Director of New Blue Vision, a Takoradi-based NGO, has called for intensive education on the proper application of agro-chemicals to forestall health problems for the people. He said many farmers applied all sorts of agro-chemicals on their farms without adequate knowledge of their usage thereby posing health problems to consumers.

Mr Biney was speaking to Ghana News Agency in Takoradi on the trend that continued to be a major concern of the NGO. "Unsuspecting consumers buy these good-looking vegetables and food items only to compound their health problems," he said. Mr Biney called on the Ministries of Health and Food and Agriculture as well as other related institutions including importers and distributors of agro-chemicals to organise forums to educate farmers on the proper application of their products. He noted this would go a long way to reduce the national health bill since the consumption of unwholesome food items could be the cause of "many strange ailments that afflict the people these days". Mr Biney said some of the chemicals used to control weeds were highly toxic and did not only create health problems when applied wrongly but also affected soil fertility. He said since about 90 per cent of the urban population consumed vegetables daily, there was the need to ensure what they consumed were not contaminated.