More than 150 farm workers, predominantly women, along with their supporters, braved severe winds and heavy rain on Tuesday as they marched through Cape Town, urging a ban on harmful pesticides. This demonstration follows a previous protest last month, organized by Women on Farms, where participants picketed outside Parliament to demand transparency and consultation regarding pesticide regulations.
Despite the adverse weather conditions, protesters donned brightly colored raincoats and sang as they marched. Their placards, some protected by plastic, carried messages such as “Stop killing us. Ban Pesticides now” and “Pesticide-free future now.” The march culminated at the German Consulate-General in District Six, where they called for an end to the export of harmful pesticides by German companies.
Lebo Ramafoko, Executive Director of Oxfam South Africa, highlighted that many farm workers are compelled to use “highly hazardous pesticides,” which are banned in Europe but still exported to South Africa by Germany. In 2019, the Women on Farms Project initiated their ‘Double Standards Pesticides’ campaign, advocating for the South African government to prohibit 67 pesticides that are already banned in the European Union. This campaign is a collaborative effort between the Women on Farms Project, Oxfam South Africa, and Oxfam Germany.
Ramafoko emphasized that these pesticides are used by farm workers to produce wines and vegetables consumed domestically and exported. She urged the German government to cease exporting these 67 pesticides, citing the numerous health challenges faced by farm workers exposed to them.
Dina Ndeleni, a farm worker from De Doorns who participated in the march, shared her concerns which includes requiring regular use of an inhaler. She questioned why these banned pesticides are being sent to South Africa, asking, “Are we in South Africa wild animals that must die?”
Jo-ann Johannes, a farm worker from Simondium, stressed the importance of their lives, stating, “Our lives are just as important as those people in Europe. 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 concluded their protest by delivering a memorandum of demands to a representative of the German Consulate-General
