Incidents, including deaths, involving food-borne illnesses and poisoning, has prompted civic groups to demand urgent regulatory reforms.Picture: Itumeleng English/ Independent Newspapers
A coalition of civic groups, including the South African People’s Tribunal on AgroToxins (SAPToA), has launched a petition demanding urgent action to address the rising public health crisis caused by pesticide poisoning in South Africa.
The petition, which has garnered support from affected communities and environmental groups, calls for a radical overhaul in the country’s pesticide regulation system, which they claim has failed to protect both farm workers and consumers from harmful agrochemicals.
The petition comes in the wake of a series of tragic incidents, including the deaths of six children in October 2024, following pesticide poisoning in Naledi, Soweto.
The Department of Health confirmed that the deaths in the Naledi incident were caused by the highly hazardous pesticide Terbufos, which is used in agriculture but was reportedly being sold illegally in spaza shops.
In response to these events, President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered all spaza shops to re-register within 21 days and cabinet ministers announced last week that food-borne illnesses have been classified as a national disaster.
A declaration of a disaster has yet to be made.
However, SAPToA and other civic organisations have strongly criticised the government’s response, arguing that the root cause of the crisis lies not with spaza shops but with the unchecked use and poor regulation of hazardous pesticides like Terbufos.
According to SAPToA, the government’s focus on blaming spaza shops has deflected attention from the "real culprits," the agrochemical industry and its failure to ensure safe handling and stewardship of toxic chemicals.
“Spaza shop owners are not the culprits. If we don’t tackle the upstream causes, we will almost certainly see more poisonings in the future,” stated SAPToA.
The petition demands several key actions from the government, including an immediate ban on Terbufos and the implementation of a comprehensive overhaul of the pesticide registration system.
“We call on the government to cease conflating incidences of food poisoning caused by agrotoxins with food-borne illnesses,” the petition reads.
The civic groups also call for a ban on aerial spraying of pesticides, which is widely practiced in South Africa’s agricultural sector, despite the potential for widespread environmental and human harm.
SAPToA noted that Dr Marcus Orellana, the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, had recommended such a ban during his 2023 visit to South Africa, citing the devastating impact of pesticide exposure on both the environment and public health.
SAPToA further demanded greater transparency in the government’s handling of pesticide-related health emergencies. “We urge the government to release the exact cause of each food-related emergency, as was done with the Naledi tragedy."
It said despite repeated warnings from experts and activists, the current pesticide legislation, dating back to 1947, has remained largely unchanged, leaving South Africans vulnerable to the dangers of agrotoxins.
“We reject the narrative that we cannot achieve food security without relying on toxic chemicals. It is time for the government to take a serious look at alternative, safer methods of food production,” said SAPToA in a statement.
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