Agrochemical abuse threatening the health of herbal medicine users in Ghana
Gone are the days when the traditional Ghanaian could just pick herbs from someone’s backyard, boil and drink as Herbal medicine.
You could end up in the emergency unit of a hospital or even die if you try that today.
Though many Ghanains have not come to terms with the consequences of the herbicides they so gleefully spray on every green in sight, the realities of the dangers they pose are starring us right in the face.
The herb you pick from someone’s backyard may have been sprayed with a poisonous chemical recently.
Many herbal medicine practitioners Bernard Buachi of rawgist.com spoke to on the subject were concerned about the situation.
Madam Felicia Adjei who lives at Fumesua in the Ashanti region of Ghana is a herbal fertility expert. She is also versed in other herbal treatments. She seems to be aware of the danger and explained that she always asks whether or not chemical weed killers or anti-snake chemicals are applied before picking herbs for her clients.
Other people we interacted with were hearing about it for the first time and looked shocked.
Essentially, the herbal medicine or drink you buy to help you deal with an illness could kill you.
Ghanaians, like many other Africans believe strongly in the potency of herbal remedies. Many also depend completely on traditional herbal remedies because they are unable to afford treatment from the hospitals.
With this alarming trend of agro-chemical poisoning of our environment, what is the fate of these devotees of herbal medicine?
The over-reliance on chemicals (most of which are extremely poisonous) as the solution to almost all agricultural problems is a huge problem for the health of Ghanaians. Sadly, as if that were not enough, many farmers when it comes to aggro-chemical use, believe that more is better.
The spraying of vegetables just before harvesting is another dimension of the harm that agro-chemicals could be causing Ghanaians.
The big question at this point is “how do we get Ghanaians off the over-reliance on agro-chemicals? ”
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