Herbicides: Atrazine and paraquat are still forbidden in Togo, Ministry of Agriculture reminds

Agriculture

Tuesday, 10 March 2020 16:38

Herbicides: Atrazine and paraquat are still forbidden in Togo, Ministry of Agriculture reminds

(Togo First) - The Togolese ministry of agriculture via a recent statement reminds the public that Atrazine and Paraquat, which are pesticides, have been banned from use in the country. The ministry also urges all farmers to report sellers who still supply the products.

“Since 2018, the country has forbidden the importation and distribution of these two products across the Togolese territory. The government then proceeded to seize and remove all remaining stocks on the market,” said the minister of agriculture Noel Bataka.

In effect, more than 13 tons of Atrazine were seized last year.

The reminder comes as recent posts on social networks mention devastating effects the two products have, saying they can cause eye damage, nose bleeding, skin rash, and respiratory diseases. These were the same reasons glyphosate was banned from use in Togo.

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

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In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

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Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

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