The use of model based risk assessment for pesticide registration and monitoring activities in Africa is often considered as non-existent. Even though so far many atempts are done, their implementation requires further atention and commitment by the concerned regulatory bodies. As a startup, we evaluated PRIMET (Pesticide Risks in the Tropics for Man, Environment and Trade) Registration_Ethiopia_1.1 model, which is a tool developed to assess the risks to non-target and early prioritized protection goals in order to assist the pesticide registration and monitoring activities in Ethiopia. Environmental risks of all the 103 registered active ingredients (a.i.) in Ethiopia, except those used for flower and storage pest control purposes were assessed. Source of necessary data was either from the information given in the dossier or public databases. Results indicated that tools like PRIMET can be used to support the pesticide regulatory activity in Ethiopia as a support to other types of gears like the FAO pesticide registration toolkit. Future studies are needed to make this tool functional as an approved national registration apparatus. Gradual banning and restriction of Highly Hazardous Pesticides and comparison of model prediction values with actual concentration measurements or effects observed in the field also needs due consideration.

Related Staff:
Sevil Deniz Yakan Dündar