Bayer Monsanto Ordered to Pay Farmer 11.4bn for Cancerous Insecticide

A US court ruling has shocked Kenyan farmers after it found, Bayer Monsanto, a company responsible for the manufacturing of the Roundup weed killer guilty of producing a carcinogenic product.

The court ordered Bayer Monsanto to pay 11.4 billion shillings to Mr. Edwin Herdema who said his use of weed killer Roundup caused him cancer.

Roundup weed killer is a popular insecticide amongst Kenyan farmers and the verdict has caused obvious concern on its safety standards.

The case of Mr. Herdema verses Monsanto was heard last week before the San Francisco Federal Court where the verdict stated that exposure to glyphosate, an ingredient of the Roundup insecticide, caused Mr. Hardema non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The verdict is likely to light up a large number of cases against Monsanto since Mr Hardeman’s case is the second with 11,200 other lawsuits against Roundup.

Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) has spoken on the matter, through its executive officer Mr Stephen Mutoro, asking farmers who have using the product to stop with immediate effect and go for medical checkups.

Farmers who will be found to be suffering similar cases are requested to report to cofek to ensure the organization goes to court for compensation.

“Should the local users of Roundup be found affected by the chemical, we will not hesitate to go to court for compensation,” Mr Mutoro said.

Cofek also called upon the Government to recall all products with glyphosate which is considered probably carcinogenic.

Roundup is largely stocked in Kenyan herbicide shops given its effectiveness in killing weed which reveals its large usage in the country. Kenyan farmers are most disadvantaged for their lack of proper protective gear where majority has none while the rest is worn out.

Insecticides and herbicides are normally considered dangerous and one is always advised to wear proper protective gear to avoid adverse health consequences.

The 11.4 billion shillings awarded by Mr. Hardeman by the court is inclusive of 590 million shillings in compensatory and 7.5 billion shillings in punitive damages.

Mr. Hardeman argued that Monsanto did not warn users of the herbicide of its cancer risk and could not help sobbing upon the release of the verdict.

Monsanto

Monsanto was a separate group till 2016 when a deal to sell it to Bayer was proposed as Bayer sought to reinvent itself a life-science company focusing on health and agriculture. The merge between Bayer and Monsanto came at a time Syngenta and ChemChina were merging and Bayer sought to match the strength of its competitor. Questions have since emerged on whether Bayer committed suicide by merging with Monsanto