“Several years ago, unaware as I was, I exposed myself and my family to pesticides. Without any personal protective equipment, I handled the products and reused the empty containers to store cooking salt. Since receiving the training, I’ve become aware of the dangers involved. Now, it is the applicator, equipped with protective gear, who is responsible for spraying the products, and we keep the empty containers away from the village and households.”
These are the words of Ms Teih Véronique, President of the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) in Tiapleu, in the city of Man, following her participation in the training on child protection from exposure to pesticides, initiated by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI).
This training is part of a pilot project to raise community awareness of the health risks associated with children’s exposure to pesticides. It aims to inform the targeted groups of good practices to reduce these risks — such as the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), safe handling of pesticides, and precautionary measures to adopt “to ensure and guarantee better protection of children”, as noted by Fernande Ehui, Environmental Health Specialist at ICI.
The training sessions in each locality led to multiple and compelling testimonies, including from Clémentine Tan and Chantal Sadia, Presidents of the VSLAs of Saguipleu and Oulaïglêpleu respectively — all within the Man area. “Each time my husband handled the products, he complained of skin burns, and my children often fell ill in the days that followed. Since applying what we were taught, things have steadily improved,” said Ms Sadia — more than six months after the training, arranged by ICI and its partners, held during Phase 1 of the project launched in October 2024 in the Tonkpi and Guémon regions.
In addition to the VSLAs, Community Service Groups (CSGs) — which represent an adult workforce — also benefited from the training. For most of them, PPE use is now considered a prerequisite before handling or using pesticides. “All the training I received opened my eyes to the effects of pesticides on my health and that of my loved ones. I used to feel ill every time I sprayed pesticides on the fields. In truth, I wasn’t protecting myself,” shared Dié Achille Ileu, Head of the CSG in Tiapleu.
What are Community Service Groups?
Community Service Groups (CSGs) are groups of trained and equipped adult workers who provide agricultural services at an affordable price. The groups offer services on credit, which means that producing families only pay once they have sold their produce. CSGs are encouraged to divide the money they earn from providing services into three: one third is shared between group members, one third supports activities in the community that benefit children, and one third is spent on maintenance, equipment purchases and ongoing training, ensuring the group's sustainability.
Exposed to the product, he sometimes inhaled it and would store unused liquid for later. “With my fellow CSG members, I commit to always wearing PPE and to helping raise awareness among our relatives to avoid the harmful consequences of pesticides,” he concluded.
The impact of these capacity-building sessions for CSG and VSLA members was also made possible thanks to the engagement of traditional authorities. With their support, village griots (traditional storytellers in West African rural communities) now conduct weekly awareness-raising activities in the villages on good practices for pesticide use. For instance, Jean Pierre Oulaï, Village Chief of Tiapleu, had a storage facility built outside the village to keep pesticides away from children and pregnant women. “You can check for yourself — across the village streets and in each home, you won’t find a single pesticide container or sachet,” he affirmed.
A targeted approach for CSG members resulted in theoretical and practical training for over 20 CSG members from Tiapleu and Saguipleu on 25 and 26 March 2025, on the responsible use of pesticides to better protect children. The first phase of the project had already engaged more than 250 members from 10 VSLAs.
The training modules included pesticide classification, toxicity, responsible use of agrochemicals, and first aid actions in the event of exposure. To translate commitments into action, ICI provided the pilot project communities with material support, including PPE (coveralls, masks, goggles, gloves, etc.) and spraying equipment. As the pilot phase of the project comes to an end, we look forward to reviewing the recommendations from the qualitative assessment before scaling up the project across Cote d'Ivoire.
