NEW RESEARCH LINKS PESTICIDES TO SERIOUS BRAIN DEVELOPMENT ISSUES IN SA

IN SOUTH Africa, agriculture represents more than an industry; it serves as a vital foundation for society.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

NEW research has alarmingly revealed a connection between common agricultural pesticides and potential brain development issues in children.

(Pexels)

From the fertile valleys of the Western Cape to small family farms in rural areas, food production is a unifying element across communities.

We shop for what looks fresh, affordable and safe.

What we don't often think about is the unseen world behind the harvest, the chemicals protecting our crops, and how they may be quietly shaping the health of the children growing up in farming regions.

A new study led by scientists from the Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research at the University of Cape Town and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute at the University of Basel is now forcing that conversation into the light.

The findings suggest that routine, low-level exposure to agricultural pesticides may be affecting children’s brain development, with potential long-term effects on their cognitive skills and emotional well-being.

Published in Environmental Research and forming part of the long-running Child Health Agricultural Pesticide Study in South Africa (CapSA), the research serves as one of the clearest warnings yet: children living in farming communities may be paying a hidden price for the country’s agricultural success.