Senegal: Toxic vegetables for sale

In his two-hectare garden in Kounoune village, 40 km east of Dakar, farmer Babacar Wade, 38, grows lettuce, cabbage, parsley, aubergine, peppers, and okra - some of the most coveted vegetables for export from Senegal.

4 Mar 2008

Some producers are worried about the levels of dangerous levels of pesticides and waste water used on their crops. (Image: Mercedes Sayagues/PlusNews).

Wade is passionate about his trade. "Market gardening is my life,” he told IRIN. But he is also concerned about the downside of the business the “dangerous” levels of pesticides, fertilizers and other toxic substances such as waste-water, that he is obliged to use to improve the colour and growth of his crops.

"We [cultivators] are… careless about people's health. Even producers are not well-protected,” Wade told IRIN.

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