JUBA, South Sudan (PAMACC News) - For the past four years, Emmanuel Atwin, a smallholder farmer in the outskirts of Juba City, South Sudan, has trusted agrochemicals to boost the productivity of his sukuma wiki (collard greens) farm. With regular use of pesticides and insecticides such as Dudu Acelamectin, Atwin believes the benefits of these chemicals outweigh any potential health risks.
Acelamectin, which is the active ingredient in the Dudu Acelamectin has been banned for use in several nations abroad. Direct exposure to the chemical can cause skin irritation, ranging from redness and itching to more severe reactions like blisters or ulcerated lesions.
"In the beginning, I experienced eye pain and skin itching after spraying," Atwin recalls. "But when I asked the sellers, they told me I would get used to it—and they were right. Seven months later, all the effects disappeared."
According to Moses Makokha, a Kenya based medical practitioner, over time, the body and brain can become less sensitive to certain irritants due to repeated exposure. “This is known as sensory adaptation or desensitization, but it doesn't mean the chemicals are no longer harmful—only that the initial acute symptoms (like irritation) may no longer be felt as strongly,” he said.
“This is similar to how people working in polluted environments (like factories) who might stop noticing the smell or irritation, but long-term effects such as cancer, liver damage, or respiratory issues can still develop silently,” he added.
As well, Atwin might also be experiencing psychological normalization, where harmful effects are downplayed because they become part of everyday life. According to experts, this is common in occupations with chronic exposure to harmful substances—especially when there’s no immediate, visible danger. But the long term impact may be inevitable.
According to the farmer, spraying every four days helps him harvest over five sacks of sukuma wiki for sale. Although he occasionally uses a glove or face mask, especially on windy days, he admits that safety precautions are not a routine practice.
“I’ve never seen anything bad with spraying my farm,” he says confidently, despite admitting to past discomfort and the lack of protective gear.
Agrochemical Sales with No Safety Guidelines
Still in the outskirts of Juba City, Sarah Aio, a sales assistant at Kubi Agro Farm Shop, has been selling pesticides for three years. She says the agrochemicals they stock are imported from Uganda and Kenya, with clearance only required from the South Sudan Bureau of Standards.
“When I started, I felt disturbed by the choking and irritating smell,” Sarah admits. “But after a few months, I got used to it.”
She confirms that the farm shop operates under a renewable certificate, but there are no enforced safety protocols for handling or selling the chemicals.
Hidden Risks in the Market Chain
Despite the increasing popularity of agrochemicals among farmers, concerns are beginning to emerge across the supply chain—from sellers to end consumers.
“We always buy fresh vegetables from these farmers,” says a vegetable trader in Juba. “But we don’t know what chemicals they use or how dangerous they are. Some of our customers complain about skin reactions or changes in the food when cooking.”
A survey done in Nairobi, Kenya, which is the main origin of pesticides used in South Sudan found that much of the sukuma wiki sold in Nairobi is highly contaminated and poses a serious health risk to consumers.
The Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) and ECOTrac Consulting also sampled three markets in Kirinyaga and four markets in Machakos, and the findings showed that only one sample of vegetables out of 19 showed no pesticide levels at all.
A local consumer in Juba, who buys sukuma wiki regularly, echoes similar fears: “We know the vegetables are sprayed, but we don’t know the health risks. Sometimes the cooking oil changes color and the smell is irritating. We’re calling on the government to create strict regulations and provide awareness through radio.”
Policy Void Fuels Unsafe Practices
Currently, South Sudan lacks comprehensive regulations and public awareness campaigns on the safe use of agrochemicals. This policy gap has allowed unregulated practices to persist, leaving farmers like Atwin—and unsuspecting consumers—vulnerable to long-term health hazards.
Experts warn that without clear national guidelines, the country risks long-term environmental and health consequences, especially as chemical usage in agriculture continues to rise.
Until such policies are implemented and enforced, the people of Juba remain exposed—to both the benefits and the hidden dangers of agrochemical farming.