EU may prolong ban on Nigerian beans over use of snipper

The Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), has said that the European Union’s ban on Nigerian beans could be further triggered by the use of snippers for preservation of beans in Nigeria.

The Head of Media Unit, NAQS, Dr Chigozie Nwodo, in a statement sent to newsmen stated: “The substance in question is an organophosphate called DDVP (2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate) which is dangerous to health, if misapplied as a pesticide.

“It is capable of causing death if inhaled or ingested in sufficient quantities. This is because the compound can bind to the lung or kidney and may become carcinogenic. Sniper ought not to come in contact with any edible material that would eventually be ingested by human beings. Sniper in beans is a material equivalent of death in pot.

“Nigerians eat a lot of beans. It is a very popular staple food item in this part of the world. So it may not be an exaggeration to say that sniper in beans is a weapon of mass destruction.

“The fact that the Sniper beans issue arose at a time when NAQS was close to achieving the lifting of EU ban on Nigerian beans and should not undermine government effort because this is capable of sending the wrong signals to our agro-commodities trading partners in the international market.”