The County Government of Nakuru is pushing for a 50 percent reduction in chemical pesticides and a ban on those proven to be hazardous to health by the year 2030.
According to County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Leonard Bor, the County was currently promoting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies which he said offer a way forward combining biological, cultural and mechanical methods with the careful use of chemical pesticides when necessary.
The CECM said the recent parliamentary debate on highly hazardous pesticides was a significant step in Kenya’s fight for food safety and public health adding that it will help in regulating certain harmful pesticides as evidenced by the recent development by the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) to withdraw seven harmful active ingredients in pesticides.
He said it was important to hold agrochemical companies accountable by regulating and monitoring their activities, promoting transparency and encouraging responsible practices.
The County official made the remarks during a public awareness campaign targeting over 3,000 farmers from Njoro and Molo sub-counties organized by the County Government in Partnership with Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI).
Mr Bor said the initiative of cutting down the risk of pesticides dubbed ‘Ukulima True’, that has received support from the Centre for Behaviour Change and Communication Centre (CBCC), was aimed at raising awareness of environmentally friendly bio-control and bio-practice products, adding that it was bearing fruits as evidenced in the reduced spraying by female farmers and increased utilization of Spray Service Providers (SSPs) in the pilot areas.
He explained that through the program, small holder farmers had been trained to adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) to ensure healthy crops and lower the risk of contaminating produce with dangerous pathogens or agrochemicals.
The CECM said the initiative was part of a process by Governor Susan Kihika’s administration and development partners to streamline Kenya’s food production systems to align them with the sanitary and phytosanitary standards, the guideline for producing safe food.
Mr Bor stated that through the initiative farmers are being educated to adopt food production methods that do not emphasize the use of pesticides and other chemicals.
“Excessive use and misuse of pesticides is causing loss of biodiversity, destroying beneficial insect populations and reducing food safety,” Mr Bor warned.
The CECM said that his department was alive to the significant challenges posed by pests, diseases, and weeds, which often result in staggering losses of 30 to 40 percent of the produce, adding that addressing these challenges demands a concerted effort from all stakeholders, both at the national and county levels.
To this end, Mr Bor underscored the need to strengthen pesticide risk regulation, research and education to yield possible alternatives and put a stop to the importation of all the pesticides banned in the European Union in addition to stepping up surveillance and monitoring at ports of entry, including airports and border posts, to ensure that unscrupulous traders do not smuggle into the country deadly pesticides.
Experts have warned that many farmers in Kenya rely on profit-driven agrovets rather than agricultural extension officers to manage pests and diseases. This has led to proliferation of crop protection products in the country, particularly those that are banned in Europe and elsewhere in the world. A study that focused on Kirinyaga and Murang’a counties found that tomatoes are among the basic food products on which pesticides are largely misused.
Records from the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) indicate that Kenya has banned 43 products and restricted the importation and use of five others. The board is now said to be working with an international partner to train Kenyans on what to look out for, even as pesticide use in Africa is said to have increased by nearly 70 per cent between 1999 and 2022.
According to the Agrochemical Association of Kenya (AAK), Kenya is a growing market for pesticides where the country is said to import more than double between 2015 and 2018.
The Sales data further reveals that one or more active ingredients classified as highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) comprise 76 percent of the total volume of pesticides used in the country.
The Pesticide Atlas, launched in 2022 by the Heinrich Boell Foundation, provided facts and figures on the most used toxic pesticides in Kenya, as well as crops that required hazardous pesticides for pest control.
Another report, “Toxic Business: Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Kenya,” published in September 2023, reinforced the urgent need for change and the push for alternative uses of pesticides. The report showed that Kenyan farmers used 310 pesticide products containing 151 active ingredients, applying 3,068 metric tons of these products.
Kenya is signatory to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Protocol with the objective of making sure that food is safe and that trade is not hindered.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly three million people are poisoned and 200,000 die every year. In Kenya, about 350,000 cases of pesticide poisoning are reported annually.
By Esther Mwangi and Felistars Kahungu
