Ethiopia ships toxic pesticide to UK for destruction

December 15, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia has shipped 84 tonnes of expired pesticides to the United Kingdom for destruction, with a further 110 tonnes to follow, local media reported Saturday.

The shipments are nonetheless just a small dent in the more than 2,000 tonnes of toxic pesticides the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation estimates the Horn of Africa nation habours, posing a grave threat to humans and the environment.

The Ethiopian agriculture ministry’s pesticide control project said 1.5 million dollars (1.04 million euros) had been spent shipping out the compounds.

“The project has also allocated (an additional) 2.6 million dollars to remove (another) 250 tonnes of pesticide,” project chief Biratu Oljira told the pro-government Walta News Agency.

Ethiopia still has one of the highest stockpiles of obsolete pesticides in the continent.

The toxic wastes, some more than 20 years old, are stored in almost a thousand sites located throughout the country, according to the UN.

(AFP)