Ugandan Cotton Ruined by DDT

"KAMPALA – [05.07.08] The use of the controversial insecticide DDT to combat malaria in East Africa has highlighted the problems faced by growers of organic cotton in countries like Uganda where spraying the pesticide has spoiled organic crops.

Over 11,000 farmers in Apac and Oyam districts of Uganda are now stuck with cotton after it was rejected by buyers from the Dutch firm BoWeevil due to DDT spraying in the area.

Marck Van Esch, the managing director of BoWeevil, told local press, “DDT is a problem in any food commodity to the Western world. There is a zero tolerance there for DDT products,” he said. BoWeevil promotes and certifies organic cotton through agricultural projects in places like Turkey and Uganda where its Ugandan organic cotton is certified by Ecocert International and complies with the stringent NOP certification so it can exported to the USA."

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