Neonicotinoids in Africa

Neonicotinoids have become the world’s most widely used group of insecticides. Also known as neonics, they have lower human toxicity than the insecticides they replaced, and their systemic action renders all parts of the growing plant toxic to insect pests.

However, in the last decade it has become apparent that these compounds also have serious side effects. The active agent spreads into pollen and nectar in flowering crops, and the neurological blocking mechanism through which the neonic works harms beneficial insects, including pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and butterflies. Moreover, most of the active agent ‘leaks’ into the environment, causing collateral damage to a variety of beneficial organisms that provide invaluable ‘ecosystem services’ such as pest control and soil formation that increase agricultural productivity and crop quality.

EU member states banned the three main neonicotinoid agents (imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam) in 2018 and discontinued approval for a fourth agent, thiacloprid, in 2020. The question arises whether similar restrictions would be justified in other regions of the world – for instance in Africa, where there are limited data available on the use and effects of these pesticides.

To answer this question, the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) worked with the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), led by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), to bring together African experts in two workshops to examine the available evidence across Africa.