The Zimbabwean economy, like that of most African nations, is built on the back-bone of agriculture. However, due to unpredictable rainfall, dry arid land and mismanagement of funds, the agricultural output in Zimbabwe has been characterized as very low over the past 10 years.

To combat these challenges, that threaten food security in the nation, the government introduced a program known as command agriculture in early 2016. The program provides over 2 000 farmers in Zimbabwe with equipment, chemicals, and other necessary inputs to increase agricultural outputs. In January 2017, research experts predicted an outbreak of armyworm in Zimbabwe. The outbreak was predicted to affect seven of the country?s farming provinces, resulting in devastation of the maize harvest expected from the command agriculture program. At the time of this discover, the country did not have the specific pesticides required to combat this invasion of armyworm.  Without any intervention, it was estimated that several thousands of Zimbabweans would die from starvation, and hundreds of thousands would struggle with food security predisposing them to experiencing nutritional challenges. 

With the army worm being quite resistant to several pesticides, Zimbabwe?s import of pesticides increased almost two fold, as farmers hastily attempted to save their harvest. With this particular scenario in mind, pesticides can be a major deciding factor in the economic status of highly agricultural dependent nations. For example, in Brazil, the third largest producer of maize in the world, armyworm is considered the most devastating pest, causing damage estimated at more than US$400 million annually. With the 2017 national budget of Zimbabwe estimated at 4 billion, high import and use of pesticides resulted in salvage of a significant percentage of maize harvests, saving Zimbabwe millions in potentially lost revenue.

Pesticides in the Zimbabwean agricultural context have several advantages, from preventing potential pest outbreaks, limiting damage of crops as a result of pests, and increasing the overall agricultural output of a nation thus increasing food security.

However, as a public health advocate in Africa, important medical disadvantages of high pesticide use tend to be overlooked. According to the National Center of Biotechnological Information (NBCI), Acute Pesticide Poisoning (APP) is a well-recognized cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries however it is not well described. Due to under reporting, and high use of pesticides in Zimbabwe, the negative impact of pesticides on the health of Zimbabweans is roughly estimated to range anywhere from several thousand being afflicted to several millions.

Organophosphates and rat poison (RP) are the leading causes of Acute Pesticide Poisoning admissions to major referral hospitals in Zimbabwe, with most of the admissions being the result of deliberate self-poisoning. Greater control in the sale and use of these products could help prevent significant morbidity and mortality.

 With very little regulation over-sight on pesticides in Zimbabwe, retention of chemicals in crops is not accurately assessed, leaving millions of consumers at risk of many adverse effects, including increased risk of several cancers, such as brain, kidney, and ovarian cancers.

In an attempt to combat the harmful side effects of pesticides, high end agricultural retailers tend to import agricultural products for sale in Zimbabwe, and/or play an active role in privately assessing agricultural products before they enter supermarkets. However, with approximately 90% of Zimbabweans being unemployed, purchasing agricultural produce from high end retailers is a challenge, thus most Zimbabweans are estimated to purchase agricultural products from the informal market, leaving them at higher risk of the adverse health effects of pesticide contaminated food produce.

The percentages of the population negatively impacted by the adverse effects of pesticides in developing countries can be greatly reduced by increasing regulation, research, evaluation and monitoring services, as well as increasing use of natural pesticides over synthetic pesticides.