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Anelka Egonda

Health

28 July, 2023

1065

Pesticides have been detected in water sources in Uganda.

This is according to research conducted by Food Safety Coalition Uganda (FoSCU), a family of local stakeholders in Uganda's agri-food system jointly working with a common vision of a society where consumers sustainably access safe food.

The research was carried out in Eastern, Northern, Central and Northern Uganda in 17 Districts with 86 domestic water sources being sampled. The sampled water sources were boreholes, protected springs, open wells, streams, taps and lakes.

Presenting the findings at a food parliament for Mbale City, Aggrey Atuhaire the Coordinator Food Safety Coalition Uganda said that 16 pesticides were detected in samples from borehole water, 16 pesticides detected in water from protected springs, 19 pesticides found in open wells while 3pesticides were detected in water from the taps.

According to Atuhaire, some of the pesticides detected in these water sources were highly hazardous. According to the report, the pesticides could have ended up in the water sources through indiscriminate disposal of empty pesticide containers by farmers and rains which washed them off food after spraying. Atuhaire says that continuous exposure to high levels of pesticides in food and drinking water is a potential contributor to a growing health burden to different non-communicable diseases.