Is pesticides use in Kenya about food production or big business?

Pesticides have not only become a prominent concern globally but in Kenya.

Proponents argue they are vital in pest and disease control in food systems, while the antagonists raise the alarm about the potential toxicity to human health and the environment.

Banned in countries of origin

The point of contention is the toxic nature of certain pesticides sold in Kenya but have been banned in countries of origin. According to a 2023 Route to Food Report, 76 percent of the total volume of pesticides used in Kenya are categorised as highly hazardous, and 44 percent of these pesticides are banned in the European Union.

This means that Kenyan farmers and consumers are exposed to pesticide products that can disrupt the human hormonal systems, nervous systems, induce genetic mutations and cancer, and pose threats to the reproductive systems and the unborn. Moreover, from an environmental perspective, these pesticides are extremely harmful to fish and bees.

What is extremely concerning is that these killer pesticides are extensively used by farmers in Kenya. In 2020, Kenyan farmers spent $72.7 million on pesticide products.

The global pesticide industry is a multi-billion industry. The Pesticides Global Market Report 2022 shows that the global pesticides market is expected to grow to $105.39 billion in 2026 from $78.16 billion in 2021.

Despite the acceptance of these pesticides among farmers, their use comes at a cost: they contaminate our food and soil, pollute our water and air, and harm our biodiversity. In 2016, research found that 35 out of 716 individuals aged between 15 and 40 years treated at Kericho Referral Hospital in March and April, suffered from pesticide poisoning. In 2021, bee colonies in Kenya declined by 16.76 percent and pesticide use was identified as one of the factors contributing to this decline.

Plea by scientists 

The concern, therefore, about toxic pesticides in Kenya and across the African continent is fundamentally about safeguarding our health and protecting our environment. It is sad that the pesticide proponents disregard the plea by scientists to phase them out of the Kenyan market as misinformation.

The writer is an agroecologist, writer, Wangari Maathai and Wageningen University Fellow, and the founder of the Hummingbird Foundation.