President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration has failed to stop the sale of poisonous farm chemicals – pesticides and herbicides – freely sold across the country yet they have been banned in many parts of the world because they cause cancer.
The sad part is that the government, with all its massive agriculture brain resource and chemical analysis infrastructure, plus border surveillance, has failed to stop the sale of these harmful chemicals despite evidence pointing their direct link to cancer, an emergent rising killer in Kenya.
Efforts to lobby through parliament have been defeated by fight-back of merchants of death who benefit from the annual Sh12 billion industry, according to Pest Control Products Board.
European agrochemical companies lead their Chinese counterparts in exporting to Kenya and selling through hundreds of thousands of rural-based agrochemical stores, extremely dangerous farm chemicals, new research reveals.
The companies are cashing-in on Kenya’s weak and slow regulatory system plus high-level ignorance among the farming rural folk who have less opportunity to know which pesticide or herbicide is banned as they trust the government to be the gatekeeper.
The manufacturers of the harmful chemicals are heavy spenders in rural media advertising, mainly in vernacular radios and are active sponsors of farmers’ education fairs, deepening their reach to the target market.
New research done by several organisations reveals that 75 of the harmful chemicals sold in Kenya are from European countries while 55 are from China and 16 are from India.
The research further reveals that the level of exposure to this toxicity is on all and sundry as residues are found everywhere; in our food, our drinking water, in the rain and in the air.
The research was conducted by several organisations including; the Route to Food Initiative (RTFI), Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA-K), Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) and Resources Oriented Development Initiatives (RODI).
It revealed that at least 32 percent of pesticide active ingredients that are currently registered and being sold in products in Kenya have been withdrawn from the European market, due to their serious potential impact on human and environmental health.
“It is disconcerting to note that the sale of these chemicals, many of which are not approved in Europe, is going on unabated with little regard to public health and environmental safety,” said Layla Liebetrau of the Route to Food Initiative.
“Our findings show that there are 24 products in the Kenyan market, which are certainly classified as carcinogenic, meaning they have the potential to cause cancer while the same number are mutagenic, meaning these substances have the capacity to cause damaging genetic changes.”
High demand for farm chemicals is fueling sale of poison
The bigger challenge is that agrochemical imports in Kenya are doubling every four years as more Kenyans adopt modern farming technologies meaning that the incidences and scale of use of these harmful chemicals will increase, widening the exposure.
Data from the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) shows that imports of agrochemicals more than doubled within four years from 6,400 tonnes in 2015 to 15,600 tonnes in 2018.
It shows that in 2018, Kenya imported 17,803 tonnes of pesticides valued at Sh12.8 billion. These pesticides are an assortment of insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, fumigants, rodenticides, growth regulators, defoliators, proteins, surfactants and wetting agents.
“Withdrawing these products from the market will reduce their availability to farmers and would be an urgent and significant step in trying to reduce the adverse effects pesticides pose to our health and food safety,” said Eustace Kiarii, CEO of the Kenya Organic Agriculture Network.
The groups say that while the Kenyan Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) irregularly takes food samples for testing, the actual levels of pesticides are not made available to the public, threatening our understanding about the safety of food consumed.
“Additionally, health studies related to pesticide exposure in Kenya do not exist. This means the extent of impacts of pesticides on the environment and health of the citizens, is not definitively known,” notes the White Paper on the research, ‘Route to Food’.
Farm chemicals like Roundup, widely used in Kenya, have been heavily fined in the United States and Canada for being responsible for causing cancer. The latest was Sh11.4 billion awarded to a U.S. citizen who said his use of weed killer Roundup caused his cancer. Last year, a court in Canada awarded a couple about Sh200 billion against Monsanto, a subsidiary of Bayer, which manufactures Roundup.
Lobbyists unsuccessfully went to parliament last year to influence policy in a move that was vehemently opposed by MPs representing the interests of agrochemical manufacturers and vendors.
Gladys Shollei, Woman Representative for Uasin Gishu County who presented a petition in parliament said the first step should be to withdraw toxic products from the market, starting with those that are withdrawn from the European market.
“About 32 percent of the active ingredients registered for use in Kenya, are not allowed in Europe. Most of the pesticides we use in Kenya are imported from Europe. We are growing organic food for export, but are seemingly less concerned about the quality of food made available to our own people. This is not acceptable,” said Shollei.
Some brands of poisonous farm chemicals
The research by the groups revelled several harmful ingredients banned in Europe but their brands are sold in Kenya, backed by the Kenya Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) pesticides database for crops which was updated in September 2019.
Carbendazim is a fungicide that is not approved for use in Europe, US and Australia. In Kenya, it is sold in seven products and is registered for controlling fungal diseases mainly in French beans and tomatoes but also in snow peas, squash, broccoli, onions and capsicum, in staple crops like rice, barley, wheat and in fruits like mangoes, citrus and pawpaw
It is sold in brands such as Sherriff, Chariot, Goldazim, Soprano, Discovery, and Seed Plus.
Acephate is an insecticide typically used as a foliar or leaves fertilizer spray. Its breakdown product is methamidophos, which is not approved in Europe. Methamidophos is highly toxic to birds and honeybees, and moderately toxic to most aquatic species and earthworms.
In Kenya, it is sold in two products and is registered for controlling chewing and sucking insects in mainly tobacco, French beans and tomatoes but also in cabbage, onions, cotton and for the control of the fall armyworm in maize. Its local brands include Sinophate, Startthene Plus, Orthene Pellet, Lotus and Missile.
Permethrin is not approved in Europe. In Kenya, it is sold in three products in crop production and is registered for controlling termites and stalk borer in maize. As dust, it is applied to stored maize and grains to control grain borer. Its brand names include Ambush, Actellic Super Dust, and Skana Super Grain Dust
Dimethoate was recently withdrawn from the European market. Although it is stated in the registration database of Kenya that foliar spray is not allowed on vegetables, it is still registered for use on potatoes, coffee, cotton, tobacco. Its brand names include Agrothoate, Danadim Blue, Domino, Ethoate, Hydro, Ogor and Rogor.
Paraquat or paraquat dichloride is a herbicide withdrawn from many markets including the European market. In Kenya, paraquat is still registered in four products for weed control in a wide range of agricultural situations. Its brand names include Hurricane, Herbkill, Herbstar, Parapaz, Partner and Gramoxone.
Chlorothalonil is a fungicide that is not approved for use in Europe since August 2019. In Kenya, it is sold in 19 products and is registered for controlling fungal diseases mainly in French beans, tomatoes and coffee but also in snow peas, cucumber and cabbage, as well as in staple crops like barley and wheat.
Its brand names include Dakota, Rova, Katharina, Twigathalonil, Twiga Eponil, Koban Cherokee, Providence, Bravo and Compliant.
Very useful…please Do not stop the message