State must protect Kenyans from toxic pesticides

I recently watched a documentary series called The Food Challenge that highlights the use of toxic pesticides in Kenya and the threat they pose to people’s health and the environment.

The three-part series exposes the manner in which pesticide manufacturers aggressively push their products to small-scale farmers with promises of better yields. It also showcases alternative approaches to food production which challenge the degree to which agrochemicals are needed to fight hunger.

After viewing the documentaries at a public screening in Rumuruti, Laikipia County, we toured several farms to gain insights from local farmers on their understanding of pesticide use and their safety. We also visited several agrovet shops within the area to hear from the dealers.

The debate on pesticides’ impact on our health and environment is a hot topic that attracts varied positions by institutions and industry players.

It was no different as the Rumuruti farmers keenly watched and listened to the film – there were whispers and shocked expressions. The question and answer session that followed was an eye-opener.

There were genuine health concerns. Most of the farmers in the room who grow cabbages, onions and tomatoes openly admitted they did not observe any protective measures during spraying. In addition, a majority for various reasons, do not follow professional spraying schedules for their crops. The magnitude of the problem we are facing in terms of limited awareness on proper pesticide use, was evident.

Several agrovet shops that we visited confirmed that the majority of farmers buying pesticides do not have sufficient knowledge on safe use and are barely aware of any potential health risks associated with these products.

Farmers do not typically read the label and tend to rely on informal conversations with other farmers’ on dosage.

This results in excessive use and mixing chemicals before spraying, hence greater potential harm to sprayers, bystanders and the environment.

Both farmers and agro-chemical dealers confirmed they have not attended and are not aware of any trainings conducted on safe use by either the Ministry of Agriculture, Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) or Agrochemicals Association of Kenya (AAK).

We found farmers spraying against the wind at midday when the sun was glaring without any protective gear. Women tended to the farm and children played as spraying was ongoing, without any protection.

Disposal of the pesticides containers was not done properly. As we walked around the farms, we would pick pesticide containers along the paths. More worryingly, some could be seen floating on the nearby river. We spotted one of the farmers, burning pesticide containers next to the main water source of the farm.

Some of the farmers we visited insisted that they observed the withdrawal period.

However, agrovet shops we spoke to confirmed that lorries, mostly from Nairobi, of traders and brokers go around farms collecting produce, often showing up unannounced. This situation forcers farmers to sell their produce before the withdrawal period ends as they fear losing revenue.

After the farm tour, I could only reflect on what is obviously a broken system. In pursuit of the next shilling, the multibillion dollar agrochemical industry’s deception campaign has been in full gear for decades. Vernacular radio stations are flooded with advertising pushing chemicals for all farming challenges, real or imagined. Nature abhors a vacuum so the industry now purports to offer extension services but their real intention is to sell more chemicals and make more money. The impact is clearly visible in our farms. Kenyans’ health and safety be damned, in the name of profit.

It is clear that regular farmer training conducted by qualified and objective professionals, employed by county governments, should be a top priority. National regulator, PCPB, should tighten requirements of qualifications for agrochemical dealers. In collaboration with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), it should also improve monitoring of pesticide use to ensure that human exposure and environmental persistence levels are within acceptable levels. Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) on the other hand needs to improve monitoring of pesticide residues in food produce available in our markets.

How many toxic chemicals are we ingesting as our regulators continue to display a disturbingly nonchalant attitude? Their inaction amounts to gross negligence and a violation of our right to food. It should not be tolerated.

The writer is farmer in Rumuruti, Laikipia County.