Sub- Saharan Africa being one of the regions of the world inhabited by people living below the poverty line, and whose primary occupation is agriculture have suffered from serious ecological contamination. Agriculture forms the traditional major source of livelihood of the population that is characterized by low education with its attendant adverse effect in other socioeconomic indicators. Being one of the under- developed or rather developing part of the world and agriculture being intensively practised with little or no understanding of the deleterious effects on the environment which is a serious ecological challenge in the region. As a result of the quest to meeting the basic food need of the teeming population, this area has been subjected to unwholesome and negative impact which has snowballed into devastating pollution of the agroecosystem. Intensive application of some agrochemicals such as fertilizers- organic or inorganic, industrial pesticides like herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, nematicides aviacides and, growth regulators etc which in one hand has beneficial effect in boosting agro- productivity in the region but on the other hand leaves the environment highly polluted. Most of the synthetic pesticides used for the management of agro-pests have broad spectrum bio –toxicity, killing both target and non-target organisms and also being persistent in the environment as well as has the ability of progressive multiplication in their concentrations along the food web. This has resulted to unhealthy residual presence of these long lasting pesticides in agricultural products leading to various chronic and acute poisoning in both human health and farm animals. In a bid to solving this problem of overdependence on industrial pesticides there should be stringent pesticide control measures and control. There is a need to have a shift in pest management that are more sustainable and based on sound agro-ecological principles. There should be as a matter of great urgency a drive to finding a more eco-friendly botanical pesticides that are more stable and resistant to breakdown by sunlight but very effective in pest management in the region.

 

Keywords: Over-reliance, Agropesticides, Ecological pollution, Sub-Saharan agriculture, Phytochemicals