NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 19 – Pressure is piling on the United Nation’s FAO to push for the ban of 237 harmful chemicals currently registered by Kenya’s Pest Control Product Board (PCPB) and which have threatened food security after the locust management.
Ahead of a meeting by the Locust Pesticide Reference Group (LPRG), Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Boss Shollei has written to the FAO Country Representative Cyril Ferrand seeking his intervention due to the harm the chemicals have to the environment.
Shollei who also authored a petition calling for the ban of the chemicals says the group should consider using natural pesticides like Pyrethrum so as to protect the ecosystem and livelihoods.
Pyrethrum in the correct formulation has zero residues after 24 hours. It therefore leaves zero residues in food products and has a safe mammalian toxicity profile, according to experts who say that Pyrethrum degrades rapidly in sunlight (UV).
“I am aware that a pyrethrin product, Flower DS 4EC, has recently been registered with PCPB for use on desert lsucts in Kenya, and I have had sight of the executive summary of the efficacy trials in the field conducted by the University of Nairobi (ULV Spraying) which achieved efficacy of 96-100 per cent,” she said, adding that she had seen “very good environmental credentials of this product and the fact that it is certified organic EcoCert (a global organic certifier).
As the committee plans to meet, Shollei wants it to ensure that Flower DS EEC is one of the insecticides listed for use in Kenya and the Horn of Africa.
Swarm: Locusts have been cutting a devastating swathe across eastern Africa
Experts say some of the chemical insecticides used in Kenya, including during the desert locusts management, are banned in Europe and the United States.
Kenya was among countries invaded by desert locusts last year, during which the chemicals were used leaving devastating effects on the environment as well as threatening food security leading to insufficient production due to the effect of crop diseases and pests. This in turn led to high food prices and reduced farmer income.
“Kenya has been doused in gallons and gallons of chemical insecticides banned in Europe and the United States. These chemicals remain active for months and months, leech into the water table and could cause untold damage in future,” one expert said.
Invading locusts spring into flight from ground vegetation as young girls in traditional Samburu-wear run past to their cattle at Larisoro village near Archers Post, on January 21, 2020.
While the experts do not advocate a total ban, they say natural locally grown organic products should be used in tandem.
Others say there has been double standards, with products sold in the UK or European supermarkets not having been sprayed with harmful pesticides.
According to experts, natural pesticides like pyrethrum can kill the insects in 24 hours, as compared to the use of the other chemicals which are used for months.
“Why kill bees and other insects for months and months instead of 24 hours, we need a blended approach; natural solutions and chemicals,” another expert said, “We are not against modern chemicals any more than we are against modern medicine.”
Pyrethrum was introduced into Kenya from Japan in the late 1920s. It has been used to fight malaria and insects.
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