This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
Kenya's agricultural sector has seen significant growth in recent years, with the use of pesticides playing a crucial role in lifting production by up to 90 percent. However, this growth requires powerful regulation and strict safety measures to ensure that the benefits of pesticide use do not come at the cost of human health or the environment.
One of the key challenges facing Kenya's agricultural sector is the threat posed by pests, such as the Fall Army Worm, which can cause significant crop losses. In 2017, for example, an estimated 16 million bags of maize worth Sh2 billion were lost due to the worm infestation.
However, thanks to the development of new pesticides, the losses suffered by farmers in 2018 were significantly lower. This highlights the importance of having effective pesticide regulation in place to ensure that farmers have access to safe and effective products.
Despite the benefits of pesticide use, there have been public declarations of pesticides as a health threat, with some campaigners claiming that the Kenyan public is being subjected to untested products. However, these claims have been distorted and misrepresented, casting doubt on the integrity of those involved.
Kenya's pesticide regulation has recently been reviewed to update a four-pillar system that continues to provide outstanding health and environmental protection from pesticides. The first pillar is a comprehensive scientific review and risk assessment, which spans more than 200 separate studies of health and environmental impacts.
Products are also tested for their effects on the environment, across land and aquatic animals, vegetation, water, air, home sand soils. The maximum safe residue levels for each product and each crop are set by the World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation Residue Committee, at meetings that the Pest Control Products Board attends.
Kenya is a signatory to global conventions such as the Rotterdam, Stockholm, and Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete Ozone Layer, and automatically bans any pesticide banned under these conventions. However, if a pesticide is banned by just one country, but other leading regimes continue to class it as safe, the PCPB reviews the evidence and decides case by case.
As a sum, so stringent is Kenya's pest control regulation that the country is Africa's second largest exporter of fresh produce to international markets that demand good agricultural practice (GAP) and absolute rigour in pesticide safety.
The writer is CEO, Agrochemicals Association of Kenya.
