109 Biopesticides Now Registered For Kenyan Farmers

The Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) has registered 109 biopesticides, which farmers can use as an alternative to plant protection products that pose risks to human health and the environment.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), describes biopesticides as a term referring to a substance derived from nature, such as a microorganism or botanical or semiochemical, which may be formulated and applied like conventional chemical pesticides.

“We have 109 biopesticides registered for use in Kenya. Biopesticides are considered less harmful compared to convection chemical pesticides. Registration for biopesticides is incentivized through shorter and less costly registration processes,” said Dr. Paul Ngaruiya.

Dr. Paul Ngaruiya, Head of Research Strategy and Planning at PCPB, was speaking during a three-part public webinar series on pesticides use and registration in Kenya organized by the Route to Food Initiative (RTFI). RTFI, advocates for the right to safe and nutritious food for all.

FAO recommends the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which emphasizes the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other interventions to levels that are economically justified and minimize risks to human, animal health, and the environment.

Speaking during the same webinar, Dr. Silke Bollmohr, an ecotoxicologist and founder of EcoTrac Consulting, highlighted that various gaps exist in the registration process of pesticides in the Kenyan context.

“The decision process should ensure a high level of protection to human, animal health and environment, acknowledge current scientific and technical knowledge as well as the precautionary principle,” said Dr. Bollmohr.

Information provided to the PCPB needs to be interrogated taking the Kenyan context into account. Hazard calculations need to be re-done before registration in Kenya, based on a different exposure assessment and different scenarios such as a diet of Kenyans, bee species, different temperatures, and soils in different counties which can change the properties of pesticides in terms of solubility, leachability, vaporization, and half-life time. MRL’s need to be adapted accordingly, and we need a better risk assessment strategy because we cannot trust agrochemical companies.

Jan Urhahn, from the  Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung in South Africa, presented findings from a study that interrogated double standards in the global pesticides trade.

The study revealed that pesticide products and active ingredients that are banned in the EU due to health or environmental concerns are exported out of the EU by agrochemical companies and sold in other regions of the world including Kenya. There is a violation of due diligence obligations in terms of human rights.

“Agrochemical companies benefit from weaker regulations in the Global South. These toxic pesticides have threatened the health of consumers and farmers causing 385 million unintended acute pesticides poisoning per year” stated Jan Urhahn.

PCPB has banned 40 pest control products mainly due to international agreements, with Dicofol banned early this year. However, other concerning active ingredients, such as Chlorpyrifos and Chlorothalonil, which are withdrawn in the EU, are still in use in Kenya.

The National Assembly Health Committee in December 2020, directed that PCPB and other relevant government agencies undertake an analysis of harmful pesticides in the country and withdraw them from the market within 90 days. The jury is out on whether this analysis will be independently implemented and include all stakeholders, particularly civil society organizations who have brought forward evidence and raised public health and safety concerns in relation to chemical pesticides.