Kenya has registered more than 60 natural pest control products as it seeks leadership in the growing biopesticides market.
The Pest Control Products Board yesterday said a growing number of farmers now use chemicals as a last resort.
"We encourage integrated pest management. We have registered many biological products but they have a limitation," board CEO Peter Opiyo said.
He said the guideline for registration of biological products are benchmarked with the European Union, USA and India.
"Kenya was among the first countries in Africa to develop guidelines for registration of biopesticides," he said.
Biological control is the release of an organism that will consume or attack a pest species resulting in population decrease to a level where it is no longer considered a pest.
The increased demand for these products is due largely to problems experienced with chemical pesticides and demands of food buyers.
Kenya is a net importer of pesticide products and in 2018-19 about 14 million kilogrammes of chemicals valued at Sh11.96 billion were imported.
Opiyo rubbished recent reports that some chemicals banned in the EU were on sale in Kenya.
The allegations were made by a local organic farming lobby, Route To Food Initiative.
"Some chemicals used in Kenya are definitely not registered for use in Europe because they target pests of tropical crops not grown in the EU. So the decision to register or not to register a product for use in the EU is a commercial decision by the manufacturer," he told The Star.
The lobby, in a report, said 24 products used by Kenyan farmers are classified as carcinogenic, meaning they can cause cancer while 24 others are mutagenic, meaning they cause damaging genetic changes.
Opiyo explained pesticides are reviewed by about eight different regulatory bodies in Kenya before they are licensed for use.
He said that pest control products are registered for specific uses. "Pesticide labels for products which were registered earlier with general uses such as ‘for use on vegetables’ or ‘for use on horticultural crops’ have continuously been revised in order to prevent exceeding set maximum residue levels," he said.
PCPB manager in charge of registration Dr Paul Ngaruiya said the winter in Europe also means they face fewer pests compared to Africa.
"We can't copy what happens in Europe because the situations are different. Our weather is suitable for certain kinds of pesticides."
Dr Ngaruiya said use of chemicals for farming has declined in three years.
In 2014, Kenya imported 16 million kilos of pesticides, which dropped to 15 million kilos in 2016 and 14 million this financial year.
"The import trend follows rainfall patterns and recently the amounts have reduced," he said.
Ngaruiya said that since 1986 Kenya has banned 31 chemical products following recommendations of international and local regulatory bodies.
"The examples include withdrawal of dimethoate, omethoate, chlorpyrifos, iprodione, and acephate for use on edible crops," he said.
The process to withdraw trichlorfon and carbofuran insecticides is ongoing.
PCPB manager in charge of compliance and enforcement Lawrence Kalawa said the board is working with farmers to ensure proper use of pesticides.
He said they conduct surveillance to ensure farmers and dealers comply with instructions.
(Edited by V. Graham)
