Farm workers march in rain and wind to call for ban on pesticides

Women farm workers marched to the German Consulate-General in District Six to demand an end to imports of harmful pesticides from Germany. Photos: Ashraf Hendricks

More than 150 mostly women farm workers and supporters braved gale force winds and heavy rainfall on Tuesday to march through the streets of Cape Town calling for a ban on harmful pesticides.

Last month, the farm workers led by the organisation Women on Farms, picketed outside Parliament, demanding transparency and consultation over regulations on the use of pesticides.

On Tuesday, protesters wore brightly coloured raincoats and sang in spite of the wet weather. The placards, some covered in plastic, read “Stop killing us. Ban Pesticides now” and “Pesticide free future now”.

They marched to the German Consulate-General in District Six to demand an end to the export of harmful pesticides from German companies.

Lebo Ramafoko, Executive Director of Oxfam South Africa said that many farm workers are still forced to use “highly hazardous pesticides”. “These pesticides are banned in Europe, but Germany continues to export them into South Africa”, she said.

In 2019, the Women on Farms Project launched their ‘Double Standards Pesticides‘ campaign, calling on the South African government to ban 67 pesticides. These pesticides are already banned in the European Union.

The campaign is a partnership between Women on Farms Project, Oxfam South Africa and Oxfam Germany.

Ramafoko said that farm workers are using these pesticides to produce the wines and vegetables that are consumed by South Africans as well as products that are exported.

Protesters marched in the pouring rain on Tuesday.

Ramafoko said the German government should ban the export of the 67 pesticides. Farm workers who work with these pesticides face a number of “health challenges”, she said.

Dina Ndeleni, a farm worker from De Doorns who travelled to Cape Town for the march, said she suffers from respiratory issues and uses an inhaler regularly.

Ndeleni said that she doesn’t understand why these banned pesticides are being sent to SA. “Are we in South Africa wild animals that must die?” she asked.

“Our lives are just as important as those people in Europe,” said farmworker Jo-ann Johannes from Simondium. “Aren’t our lives more important than money? Because all those big companies are making millions and millions of rands exporting these pesticides to us here in South Africa.”

The group handed over a memorandum of demands to a representative from the German Consulate-General.

The Women on Farms Project has launched a ‘Double Standards Pesticides‘ campaign calling on the South African government to ban the use of 67 pesticides.

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